


Continuity

by PoetsReach



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, Illnesses, M/M, Mpreg, everything refferenced was legal and acceptable at the time and place, everything turnes out okay, unrealistic DMV experiences, warning for underaged is for safety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 02:16:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18064652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoetsReach/pseuds/PoetsReach
Summary: Evgeni had to get out of Russia, he didn’t know if he had simply reached the tipping point of what he could stand, or if there was something else going on, but he had to get out.





	Continuity

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A Single Violet Transplant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3784471) by [dancinbutterfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinbutterfly/pseuds/dancinbutterfly). 



> AU of The Ecstasy - by dancinbutterfly  
> Should still make sense if you haven't read it though I would recommend it!
> 
> This fic is only about half finished in my head, BUT I haven't worked on it in about a year and a half! so I am marking it complete. If you FEED ME with feed back the muse might come back, I hope, please feed me.  
> Sorry for any errors, I am dyslexic and I have no beta. (If you want to edit it hit me up, or just to talk about it).
> 
> More notes at end with some minor warnings.

When Zhenya intentionally revealed his status for the first time and Mario embraced him it was as if the strings holding him together had been released. He sagged, barely holding himself up, it took a lot not to start crying in relief at the acceptance he had known would be there, that he had gambled everything on. If the Penguins didn’t want him there was a good chance he wouldn’t be able to stay in America. And he couldn’t go back to Russia. He couldn’t. 

For the past week or so he had been feeling a growing sense of dread. Something told him that if he stayed in Russia, if he stayed within the purview of the RSL, something terrible was going to happen. Something that would make everything that had already been done to him look small. He hadn’t been able to put his finger on what, so he hadn't mentioned anything to anyone, not even Dima. Besides, it was probably just the pressure and stress of planning his escape. But something still, well it didn’t feel wrong exactly, but something was not quite… something was different, off. It might be he was still adjusting to Dima’s rejection, it was probably that. It was just the shock, all of the changes that were going on around him. He would be fine, he just needed time, and well, he guessed he had plenty of distance already. The cure for a broken heart. It sounded bitter and sarcastic, even to him. 

He came back to himself as Mario began pulling away from him. Telling him he didn’t have to hide any more. Offering, with a smile, to have an appointment with the team doctors set up for him tomorrow. 

“Yes. Want so much.” Zhenya agreed, grateful that for the first time in years he would be able to see a doctor he trusted to have his health as at least one of their primary concerns. Hopefully he could switch suppressants to something less severe now that he did not have to hide. Maybe he would ask about how he had been feeling off. But the idea that there might be something really wrong terrified him. What if he couldn’t play. If he couldn’t play for Pittsburgh what could he do? So maybe he wouldn’t ask. Maybe it was nothing. It was probably just stress. He was fine. 

“Okay then.” Mario brushed his hair back from his forehead, a small reassuring gesture Zhenya was grateful for. “No more Eastern Block bullshit. We’ll take proper care of you.” 

\-----------------------------------

Later that evening, after a thoroughly American meal of meat and potatoes, Zhenya found that in spite of the long flight, time change, and stress, or perhaps because of them, he could not sleep or settle. Instead of disturbing others with his fidgeting he decided to go outside and look at the sky, find the stars he was used to, still there amidst all of the change. He had been out in the yard in the cool night air, looking up, for perhaps twenty minutes when he was startled by Mario’s voice beside him. “There’s too much light pollution to see much, but at least it’s a clear night.” 

“Is good to know some things not change.”

Zhenya could feel Mario’s eyes on him, building up to saying something. “I know a little about how Omegas are treated in Russia, I know things couldn’t have been easy. You’ve probably been through some really difficult things. Damn, you practically had to smuggle yourself out, leave behind everyone and everything you knew with little chance of ever going back,especially if you plan on being open with your status. That couldn’t have been easy….”

“Not everything. Still have hockey.” For most of his life Hockey was pretty much all he had wanted, he and his family had built everything around that, and since he presented, around hiding so he could have that. And the other things he had started to realize he wanted, well apparently none of that was going to happen now so hockey it was. Dima might have snuffed out the hope of everything Zhenya had thought he had been offering the last time they had seen each other, but he had helped give him the NHL. At least there was that.

“But hockey isn’t everything, that is something I learned and something I think you know to, even if you might not want to right now. Don’t get me wrong, we are excited to have you here, everyone is excited to play hockey with you. But if you need time, well we can wait until you are ready, if that is what you need. Until you have your head on straight.”

“What I need is to play hockey.” He needed to lose himself in training, in playing, in a new team that didn’t hate him. It was what he was here for. He didn’t want to wait until things stopped hurting in his chest. Hockey always helped with that anyway. 

“Not going to lie and say that I’m not glad to hear that. But if you change your mind or you just need to talk don’t be afraid to let me know. I’ll do my best to listen.” With that Mario clapped him on the shoulder and turned to go back into the house, leaving Zhenya to look up at the sky and try and clear his mind. 

\---------------------------------------------

The next morning Zhenya was feeling sluggish. He could feel a headache building behind his eyes and at the base of his skull, but he got a ride with Mario to the doctor he had set up an appointment for him with despite wanting nothing more than to continue sleeping. He wasn’t sure what he expected and he isn’t sure where Mario goes off to after speaking quietly to the doctor while a nurse gives him a couple of forms to fill out. Thankfully they are in Russian, though asking him to respond in English if possible, (he ends up dictating to the nurse,) just stuff about how he’s been feeling and what medication he is on. They seem to be treating him with genuine kindness. 

“Mister Malkin, we’ve been informed that some of the information in the medical records you sent us might not be accurate or complete?” So that must have been what Mario was talking to the doctor about then. He seems to have left most of the explaining for Zhenya to do though.

“Yes. I am not beta, I am an omega. Also I am on strong suppressants. Very strong. Have had induced heats.” None of that was in his medical record he was fairly sure. The RSL would have made sure of it. 

“Induced heats? But you are so young?” The doctor seemed concerned and more than a little confused. Zhenya didn’t know what to tell them though, he didn’t want to relive everything right now so he just nodded and stayed silent. “We are going to have to do a lot of blood work to figure out what we are working with, what kind of shape you are in right now. I hope you don’t mind needles.” He didn’t, except for when he was being injected with the heat inducers, but the doctor didn’t sound like she actually expected an answer so he didn’t bother to provide one. The nurse went off, presumably to get the supplies for drawing blood for the test, as the doctor got comfortable sitting in front of him. “I have some questions for you since you are an omega, normally this would be part of intake, but we didn’t know to expect an omega so we didn’t have this form translated, are you more comfortable reading or hearing English? Or we could find someone to translate?”

Zhenya got most of that, “I am okay hearing, just not too fast.”

“Okay then, when was the first day of your last post heat menstruation?”

“Five weeks.”

And the questions went on.

\-------------------------

They drew a lot of blood.

He decided he wanted to start going by Geno like Sidney said. A fresh start in a new place with a new team. 

While the blood was being sent to the lab the doctor did a physical exam. Before she did anything she made sure to explain it to him first. He wasn’t sure if this was an american thing or if it was just her, but he appreciated it. She seemed to linger for a moment a couple of times but didn’t look overly concerned, so he didn’t let it bother him. 

He didn’t end up telling anyone he had been feeling off.

\-----------------------------

When the blood tests came back the doctor asked again if he wanted them to find someone to translate, or if he wanted the news in private. Geno thought about asking for someone, his headache had only gotten worse and English was difficult, but something in her face made him think that he did not want a stranger here right now. “No. Thank you, alone I think. Get someone if I don’t understand.” He pulled awkwardly at the paper gown he was still wearing.

“Mr. Malkin, you said your last heat ended five weeks ago, are you sure of that number?”

“Yes. Why you ask?” This did not sound good.

“Was that heat induced medically?”

“All heats in last two years induced. RSL required. All heats in offseason.”

The doctor did not look happy with his answer, but she didn’t look surprised either. “Mr. Malkin, do you know what a silent heat is?” When he shook his head she continued. “A silent heat is a heat without any of the symptoms, no rise in body temperature, no increase in sex drive, things like that. A silent heat can happen for a lot of reasons, one of those is the natural cycle being severely disrupted artificially.” When she saw the confused look on his face she backtracked some and rephrased. “A silent heat is when you are in heat, you are fertile, can get pregnant, but there is no way for you to know it, you feel normal. It can happen when your body is forced into heat in a way that isn’t normal on a schedule that isn’t natural. Like what was done to you.” She looked at him as if she expected something. Geno wasn’t sure what it was, but he was pretty sure it was important.

“Why you tell me this?” He was starting to develop a feeling, but wanted to hear it from her before he drew any conclusions.

“According to what we found in your blood work and what you have told us it appears that you experienced a silent heat about three weeks ago.”

“But the suppressants, they should have stopped, yes?”

“Most suppressants, including the ones we found in your blood, aren't designed to stop this kind of heat, over time there is even a small chance that they can cause one on their own. That is very rare though and you would have had to be on them a lot longer than you were. This was caused by the heat schedule the RSL forced on you. Mr. Malkin-”

“Geno, call me Geno”

“Geno then,” she smiled at him kindly, “the reason that this is important is that when we found those hormone markers in your blood we also ran a pregnancy test and it came back positive. Geno, you are three weeks pregnant.”

Geno was sure that he must have heard her wrong. There was no way that he was pregant. Then he thought back to three weeks ago, Dima had been with him, he had still thought everything was good between them. Omegas are only fertile during heat and his had ended two weeks earlier so they hadn’t been worried. It was only about two weeks ago that he had started to feel that sense of dread, then he remembered one of the clauses in the papers the RSL had made him sign and he realized what he had been so afraid of. It made sense, two weeks was about when some omegas said they knew that they were pregnant. He was pregant. Oh god, he was pregnant and left everyone he knew, who knew him. He was pregnant and Dima had left him. He was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people without a mate. What was he going to do. Coming back to the present somewhat he realized that there was one thing the doctor might be able to set his mind at ease on. 

“The baby, I am on such strong suppressants, would they hurt it?”

“They shouldn’t, it is too early to actually check, but there is no reason to think that they would. You should stop taking them though.”

They sat in silence for a moment, just looking at each other, Geno guessed that she was probably giving him time to let the idea sink in. He appreciated it, though he didn’t think it really would for a while yet.

She cleared her throat, “If you want we can talk about options you have now, or you can come back in a few days if you would rather not right now. I know this is a lot to take in and you might not be feeling the safest at the moment.”

“Options?” His mind somewhere far away, back in Russia, he wasn’t sure what she meant, but she seemed to take it as a request to proceed.

“Yes, you have a few options to think about when it comes to how you want to move forward. Of course you could proceed with the pregnancy and keep the baby, or you could give it up for adoption. There are open and closed adoptions that you could look into if that’s the rout that you want to take. You could also choose not to proceed with the pregnancy, there is a time limit on that, but you are not very far into the pregnancy and so you have time, though the sooner you make that decision the safer and more comfortable that procedure would be.” She paused, watching him quietly for a moment. “Whatever you decide there will be support available for you, so don’t feel pressured to make one decision over another on account of what you think is expected of you here. Take as much time as you need.”

What was expected of him. Oh god. Hockey. The Penguins. What was going to happen to him, he hadn’t even started to train with the team yet and now this. He couldn’t go back to Russia, especially not now. He really hoped Mario had meant it when he said that he could take some time if he needed it before he started playing. He doubted Mario had been thinking about this much time, but he really hoped it was going to be okay because… because he realized that he’d already been thinking about it. Something inside him had known and, while he hadn’t acknowledged it, he had already been considering this. He knew what he wanted, and that was this baby. If he was careful with his money he was fairly sure that he could go the year he would need without working, without playing. Without Dima. Because Dima didn’t want him anymore. Should he tell Dima? The thought scared him, what Dima’s reaction might be scared him. Not because he was scared of Dima, he had never been scared of Dima, but because he was scared of what a second rejection would feel like, the first time had been painful enough, being told to cut ties, being told he’s too young, that he doesn't know what he wants. He’s not sure what would hurt worse, rejection of their child or disappointment in him for getting pregnant.

Geno decides to worry about the problem that is more immediate first, what would happen with the Penguins. This doctor who was on the pay of the Penguins. “I think about it… Can… Can you not tell? For me, please. I will tell team, but could you not, let me do. Please?”

“Of course. Of course I won’t be able to clear you to play or practice until you make a decision, and what you decide will determine what I can Okay, but I won’t tell anyone why until you give the okay. I wouldn’t do that to you and Mr. Lemieux at least wouldn’t ask me to. You have suffered enough at the hands of team doctors already.” She offered him a small smile that he guessed was an attempt to comfort him. It worked, a little. 

“Thank you.” Now for the hard part. Telling Mario. 

\-----------------------------

Geno realized that not only did he not have phone numbers for anyone on the continent except his agent, he wasn’t sure he had a working phone. 

It turned out his phone worded, kind of. Not well, and it was going to cost him a lot if he wanted to use it. He was going to need a local phone. Just one of about a million things that he needed to take care of. He guesses this is what happens when you flee everything you know at almost no notice and have to hide that you are going. Not much time or opportunity to take care of the details. He probably needs an immigration lawyer to, given that his passport isn’t technically valid, listing him as a beta and it’s not like he will be able to hide what he is for much longer. He is pretty sure that his agent can help him find the lawyer. Maybe if the work visa doesn’t hold up under the invalid paperwork and false passport he can apply for asylum. Everyone knows how badly Russia treats omegas. 

“Hey Zhenya! How did the checkup go?” The familiar Russian broke Geno out of his thoughts, he looked up to see Gonch walking toward him. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, everything is fine.” He didn’t sound all that convincing, even to himself.

“You don’t sound fine. What is wrong?”

“It’s just that… the drugs they had me on. They messed me up.”

“Illegal?! Will you not be able to play?”

“No, nothing like that. Though maybe they should be. Just really strong suppressants and stuff like that.” Geno was quick to explain. The last thing he needed was people thinking he was doped up. “Also it’s just, it’s hitting me how much I wasn’t able to plan for, having to leave the way I did. I need a new phone, and… there is just so much I need to do. I’m luckily my agent was able to help me transfer funds so I can take care of things, but I just… there is so much that I need to do.”

Gonch looked at him carefully and seemed to come to a decision. “The phone we can fix now, I don’t know about the rest of it, but that will make other things easier later. Come on Zhenya, I will take you.”

“Thank you, and could you call me Geno?”

“Yah, I can do that Geno.”

\------------------------------------

Having a working phone was a relief, he had made sure that he got a plan where he could make international calls without being bled dry, so he would at least be able to talk to his family, even if it was a long time before he saw them again. He knew he would need them in the coming months, especially his mother. Rather than just replacing his old flip phone this time he had gone for a smartphone, one he could load a Russian to English dictionary on and that had GPS, both of which he guessed he was going to be using a lot. He also now had a few new phone numbers, Gonch was kind enough to make sure he had his number as well as Sidney’s and Mario’s since he was living with them temporarily. 

Living arrangements, that was another thing that was complicated by the pregnancy, while pregnant, omegas tend to start nesting at a certain point, usually when they start showing obviously. Once they have started to nest moving too far from where they have built their safe space can be very stressful and this continued for months after the birth. It was why most omegas gave birth at home, not in a hospital like betas often did. Mario had talked about billet housing, but whoever he was housed with would have to put up with a lot for almost a year, so that might not work out. And he needed to find that out soon so he could start finding and establishing a territory of his own if he needed to. Maybe a small apartment somewhere where everything he needed was close. 

He needed to talk to Mario. He would do it after dinner that night. After the trip to get a phone Gonch had dropped him at Mario’s house and he had let himself into the guest house with the key he had been given. He decided that while he was alone he should fill his agent in on what was going on. Before he could over think it he pulled up the number in his new phone and hit call. It rang for a long time befor it was picked up. 

“Hello?”

Right he forgot, new number. “Hello, this is Evgeni Malkin, I have a new number. Um, I made it through, I’m in Pittsburgh.”

“Oh! I am so glad to hear that. Thank you for filling me in. Did everything go well?”

“Everything went as planned. But there is something I need to tell you. I went to one of the team doctors today and they told me I am pregnant. I plan to keep it, but I haven’t told them that yet. She promised not to tell anyone why she wasn’t clearing me right away. She is letting me explain that to them myself. I plan to tell Mr. Lemieux tonight since he has me living with him for now.”

There was a moment of silence before he finally responded with, “Well I am glad I included the parental leave clause in your contract now. Though I didn’t expect you to be using it for years yet. Would it be alright if you kept me on the phone while you told him about this? I would feel better knowing you had someone listening in who had your best interests in mind. Now I don’t expect him to react badly to this, not after how he was treated in the league while he was playing, but I would rather be there in person while you have this conversation honestly, and if that can’t happen, then the phone is the next best thing.”

“Yes, thank you.” Geno breathed a sigh of relief that he seemed to be taking this in stride. What was ahead would be so much harder without his agent in his corner. 

“Okay, if that was all, what time were you planing on having this talk? So I can be sure to pick up your call.”

“Maybe seven?”

“Sounds good.”

\---------------------------------------

Geno was quiet at dinner and he could tell Mario noticed he wouldn’t meet his eyes. Geno honestly almost blurted it out a couple of times, but stopped himself. This was a conversation he wanted to have in private, not at the dinner table with Mario’s family and Sid there. 

By seven everything was cleaned up and he was out of reasons to stall. First he called his agent. Then he went in search of Mario. He wasn’t hard to find, sitting in the room that served as his office. When he looked up to see Geno in the doorway he smiled and beckoned for him to sit on the couch across from the chair he was in. 

“Who’s on the phone?”

“My agent. Remember how you said I talk to you if I want to? Need to?”

“Yes, is this a talk that you feel you need your agent involved in? Is there something wrong?”

“Not wrong, maybe wrong? Don’t know what you will think. Rest of management think. Agent wanted to listen in if okay with you? I put on speaker?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Mario had developed a vaguely concerned expression, with a crease just between his eyebrows.

Geno took a big breath and began. “You remember you say I have time if need?” Mario nodded and gave him a reassuring look. “How much time you mean?”

“You don’t have to start the season, maybe after the Christmas break? We can sort something out. We weren't expecting you so we can manage without if we need to. But Geno, what’s wrong? Yesterday you seemed so eager to get on the ice and start working with the rest of the team. What changed?”

“Today at doctor, they tell me something I did not expect…”

“Geno are you sick? Hurt?” Mario was leaning forward now, his elbows on his knees. Geno was feeling a little crowed.

“No. No. Pregnant. Three weeks. And I want to Keep. I know I young, but I manage, promise, not give up on Hockey, just need time.” Geno realized he was near tears and bracing his arms against his stomach, though he wasn’t sure how he got there. The next thing he knew Mario was sitting beside him and had his arms around him, keeping him close where he could hear the soothing purr he had started up as he rubbed his back. 

“Hey, it’s going to be alright. Of course you can have the time! And hey, instead of billeting with Gonch why don’t you stay here with us in the guest house? That way we can make sure you have the support you need and you won’t have to deal with moving again. Less disruption and fewer sents this way right? So long as you would be okay sharing your nesting space with Sid. If not we can work something out.”

All Geno could do was nod and try not to cry all over him for a few moments. His agent chose that moment to speak up. “So I take it that it’s agreed that he will start sometime next season instead of this one?”

“Yes, we will work something out to make sure his visa stays valid untill he starts with the team. Wait, all of his documents say he is a beta, don’t they? Is any of that going to be valid?”

“Probably not. Especially since it is clear that it was not just some clerical error. It will be pretty obvious that he actively hid this. I assume the Penguins organization will back him up in any attempts to stay in the country while his immigration status gets sorted out? I think we both know that if he gets sent back to Russia he won’t be getting out again.”

“Of course. Do they even allow omegas their own passports?”

“No, they don’t. And lying to get one carries a jail sentence. It is likely that he would be imprisoned and his child would be taken from him. His family may also be in danger if it can be proven that they helped him hide. They were extremely careful, so that isn’t likely, but it is a possibility. They wouldn’t have to worry about jail time though, just Evgeni.”

Geno’s breathing picked up again from where it had begun to calm as he thought about how likely it was that he would be deported and sent back to Russia. How he might never get to hold the baby. He wondered if they would let Dima take care of it, or not because he had helped him hide. He calmed some as Mario started up the soothing purr again. “Look, I think we should have the rest of this conversation another time. I think he’s dealt with enough for now. This much stress probably isn’t good for him right now.” Mario spoke up.

“Of course, I will be in contact and start looking for a good immigration lawyer. We will talk later Evgeni.”

“Yes later. Thank you.” Geno was able to gasp out before the call disconnected. 

“What do you say we just sit here for a while, huh?” Mario suggested “no worrying about things we can’t change right now.” Geno nodded and relaxed into Mario’s arms. “Do you want to talk about the father?” Geno shook his head. “Okay, okay…”

Later that night as Mario curled up with Nathalie she asked him what had been wrong with Geno. “Couple of things actually, one of them isn’t really wrong, he’s pregnant, but all of his paperwork saying he can be in the country is probably invalid and he is terrified of being sent back to Russia. Rightfully so I would say.”

“Poor boy, to be worrying about all of that so young… He’s what, 19?”

“Yah, he’s 19.”

\----------------------------------------

 

The next morning Mario suggested that they get Geno cleared to skate and practice at least and start integrating him into the team. No contact, of course. When they go back to the doctor and Geno explains his decision she gives him a referral to someone outside the organization who specializes in pregnancy. She also clears him to skate and participate in practices in a restricted way. No contact. No pushing himself too hard. Geno is excited about meeting the team and getting to skate, to show some of what he is capable of. To show why they didn't waste their chances on him, even if they aren't going to get him playing and really contributing for a year or more. To show why they should do their best to keep him around. 

They make their way over to the practice facility and Mario introduces him to the coaches. They had decided that, even though it was early in the pregnancy and Geno wanted to wait to tell people, they needed to tell the coach about what was going on if Geno was going to be skating. It was just in case anything happened and so he, or anyone else, didn’t push him too far. 

Therrien seemed confused as Mario explained that Geno would be skating with the team for now, but would not be playing or engaging in contact. “Wait, if Malkin is finally here, and cleared to skate, what is going on? Are you recovering from an injury, a concussion? And why am I just hearing about this now?”

“Because didn’t know.” Geno spoke up for the first time. “Not hurt. Pregnant. Just find out yesterday.” As Therrien stared at him he began to shift uncomfortably and moved a little closer to Mario. Therrien noticed the movement and it seemed to knock him out of whatever funk he was in. He shifted into a less aggressive stance. It was bad form to intimidate someone carrying a child, and it wasn't hard to do by accident, instincts were heightened during pregnancy. 

“Sorry, is this something that is public knowledge?”

“No. Is early. Not want to risk in case something go wrong.” 

“Okay. Okay, we’ll put you in a no contact jersey any time you skate though. I don’t want something happening because one of those idiots was horsing around and forgot. Even if you're not in gear, you hear me?... Could you give me some verbal confirmation that you actually understood all of that?”

“Da, yes. I understand. No hitting. Wear special jersey. Yes?”

“ Yes. Get geared up and out on the ice, we'll introduce you to the guys. I’ll get someone to find the jersey.”

Meeting all of the guys was great. Gonch helped translate and it was a relief not to have to struggle to keep up with everyone's English, some of it heavily accented. Everyone was welcoming, if confused by the jersey and the lack of an explanation to go with it, Sidney and Gonch seem especially concerned, having thought he was fine to start with the team. He had a feeling that he would have to tell Sidney soon at least, since he would be living in the guest house with him. 

\----------------------------

Practice was over and he was comfortably tired but didn't feel like he’d pushed it too far. When Sid asked him if he wanted to go get lunch he agreed. They ended up at a diner. When Geno had trouble with the menu Sidney noticed and offered to order for him before realizing how that sounded, turning bright red, and stammering an apology and an explanation. Geno thought it was cute. He also took him up on the offer to read the menu to him. 

Once they had their food, both having ordered sandwiches and Gono having ordered a tea that turned out to be a great disappointment, but still better than nothing especially after he scraped one of the tiny containers of jelly on the table into it much to the consternation of the waitress who watched him do it, Sidny gave him a look. “What Look mean?” Geno demanded.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Geno was having none of that. “Not stupid, don’t pretend. Your face, why, what i do?” He was going to be living with Sidney for who knew how long, at least that’s what it looked like was going to happen. He didn’t want things to be weird. If there was going to be a problem he wanted to know sooner than later so he could make other arrangements if he needed. 

“Okay, fine. Why the no contact jersey? And why didn’t it look like Coach was looking to put you on a proper line during practice? I mean, I know this was just the first day, but this is NHL hockey, and he’s been practically gleeful for days that he was finally going to get you on the ice! Well, gleeful for him anyway. I know it’s not about you being an omega, we have other omegas on the team and, well, I wasn’t here when they first got here, but Coach never seems to treat them differently like he treated you today. Like you’re delicate or something.” Sidney seemed like he was working himself into a bit of a twist and it seemed to be on Geno’s behalf. He was going to have to take care of this sooner than he thought. So much for not telling people before he started to show and jinxing it. Hopefully he could keep the number small though. 

“We not talk about this here, back at Mario’s I talk, but not here. Okay? Promise not bad or Coach’s fault.” That seemed to mollify Sidney, so Geno considered it a success. Sidney did seem to eat faster after that though. 

When they had finished and paid Sidney drove them back to Mario’s house and let them into the guest house. Then he turned and fixed Geno with a very serious look. “Okay, what is it. What about not being able to play hockey is not bad? What is going on?” It was more of a demand than Geno really liked, a little more alpha than he thought was strictly necessary, but he could tell that Sidney hadn’t meant it to come out that way when he started shifting uncomfortably and turned red again. Like before at the restaurant it was kind of cute. Just as he was starting to apologize Geno took pity on him, told him it was fine and asked him to sit down. “Why?” 

Sidney seemed more curious than confrontational so Geno just sat down on one end of the couch and looked at him pointedly. “Is more comfortable.” So Sidney sat on the other end of the couch and looked at him expectantly. “In restraunt, you say know that not treat different because I omega,” Sidney nodded, “well not exactly right. Is kind of because omega.” Now Sidney looked confused and frankly a little betrayed, like he was having to change how he viewed the world and what he thought of people he looked up to. That was not what Geno had intended. “But also meant it, is not bad. I tell you thing you not tell anyone else?”

Sidney looked wary, probably of having to keep a secret from Mario, but Geno wanted his promise first. “Okay… I promise, but if you’re in danger I’ll have to tell, okay?” Geno was satisfied with that. 

“Okay. I am pregnant. Not want to tell until I start showing, but realizing can’t be secret always.”

Sidney’s eyes have gone wide and he looks kind of panicked, huh, Geno didn’t expect that. “And you are playing hockey! Who knows? Is that safe!?”

“Mario know, doctor know, Coach know, I know, now you know. Is why I not practice hard and wear special jersey, no contact. Keep me safe, baby safe. Not start with contract this season, next season.”

“Do you know who the father is? Sorry! That was insensitive wasn’t it, you don’t have to answer that! I mean, i’m not in charge of you, obviously you don’t have to do anything-”

“Sidney. Is okay. Yes, know who father is. Not on best terms though.”

“So you don’t want him around?”

“More like he not want me.” This was not the direction of the conversation that Geno was prepared to take this in. He had been expecting talk about hockey, not his still painful lack of a relationship.

“He found out you were pregnant and dumped you?!” Sidney looked and sounded scandalized, once again getting angry on Geno’s behalf. This time it wasn’t that surprising though. Afterall, leaving a pregnant partner, especially an omega, was pretty much taboo. 

“No, when he tell me leave, end relationship, I not know pregnant yet.”

Sidney was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Do you want him back?”

Geno wasn't sure what he wanted, but he gave it some serious thought. “Maybe? Don’t know. When he break up. He hurt me. I do not want to end things. But now. I think, what if only comes back for baby? What if comes back to me, not really want me? Not know if I want that.What if doesn’t want baby? What if he tell me, ‘too young Zhenya, not know what you want, don’t have baby.’ He not want me tied to him, now this!” It was obvious he was upset, getting progressively louder, emotion creeping into his voice, and he knew Sidney could tell and didn’t know what to do. But Sidney reached across the couch and grabbed one shoulder, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort. 

“I don’t know what to tell you Geno. I’m not an omega and I don’t really know anything about relationships or breakups. Maybe Mario might have some better advice? But as an alpha, what I can say is that I would want to know if I was going to be a dad. I don’t know this guy you’re talking about, but I think you might want to think about at least telling him. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won’t. But you will never know if you don’t try, right?” He looked considering for a moment, “and I mean, I don’t know much about this, but if having him around would be a good thing, him being there is supposed to make things easier on you right?”

Geno had to admit he had a point. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to take that leap yet.

\-------------------------

Questions about Dima become something of a theme. Geno can’t say he’s surprised that Mario told Nathalie about the pregnancy. After all, he will be staying in her territory as much as it’s Mario’s as well. As the alpha in the territory she deserves to know if there is an omega who will be nesting there and require her protection, even if it is just symbolic. He is surprised though that she more or less corners him later that week and asks if he’s informed the sire and whether they will be involved. She seems disappointed when he tells her he doesn’t know as he hasn’t informed the sire. Beyond that she doesn’t push him though. 

At least Mario isn’t periodically bringing it up like Sidney is. He does have to give Sidney credit though, he hasn’t done anything to tip off anyone else on the team, or even Mario’s kids. He’s doing much better at keeping his promise than Geno expected him to. Mario seems to be trying to be the person who doesn't stress Geno out. Geno isn’t sure that is going to work out, but he’s going to appreciate it while it lasts. 

No one is bothering him about the no contact at practice (he thinks someone may have started a rumor about him being injured), his agent hasn’t contacted him about his immigration status or a lawyer, and his first appointment with the pregnancy specialist isn’t until next week. So overall he’s doing alright at keeping his stress levels down. Skating with the team is helping. He had had to sign an extra contract saying that the other was postponed and he was working for the Pen’s organization in an unspecified capacity and would be compensated like a standard non player employee. He, his agent and the management and coaches all seemed to agree that this was to everyone's benefit. He got health insurance and a small salary, given the number of hours he would be working with the team, and they got to integrate him into the team so he could hit the ice next season ready to be a productive, integrated part of the team. It was more than he had hoped for, between that and the money he had saved up he would be fine financially until he could start playing, even if he had to move out of the Lemieux’s guest house. He can relax for a while.

\---------------------------

It’s been a week and a half since he was told he is pregnant and he once again finds himself in a doctor’s office with Mario. This time instead of the team doctor he’s at the office of a specialist and they have a professional interpreter there with them, a young beta woman with a nonthreatening sent who specialized in medical interpretation. Hearing Russian, even with an american accent, helps to settle his nerves, giving him the assurance that he will understand all of what goes on here today. Mario is there both as his transportation and as emotional support. He stays out of the way as the interpreter helps Geno fill out the intake formes, reading them to him in Russian and writing his answers in English. 

When he is taken back to the exam room Mario stays sitting in the waiting room. The doctor is a middle aged woman, an alpha but one on suppressants, something that he finds out later is not unusual in the Americas and parts of Europe for alphas working with vulnerable populations. She starts out asking about how he’s been feeling, and moves on to his medical history, asking in detail about his heats and suppressants, not just what he was on, but how he felt while on them, how and why they were administered and how they affected him. She asks about the situation with the sire suggests that he contact Dima to get his and his family’s medical history if nothing else. She asks about specific symptoms, he hasn’t had any yet, other than a general fatigue and feeling ‘off’; and about his emotional well being, there has been an undercurrent of stress since before he got pregnant. 

When she asked if he wanted to do a genetic screening to see if he was a carrier for anything he hesitated. He was remembering his cousin and her little Yasha, how much she had loved him as he grew inside her, as she held him for the first time, as she had held him for the last time, only four years later. He asks her to check for tay-sachs. Anything else he feels like he could deal with when the time came. Even if it meant giving up hockey. But not that, not after he watched little Yasha die like that. The doctor asks if there is a family history, he says yes, a cousin, she mercifully does not ask for details. 

She did a physical exam. One which was not comfortable. The interpreter sat facing the wall while it was going on. He was glad when she said it was done.

She gave him a lot of advice about what to and not to eat and do. Then she set up another appointment for him. “Because you are so young, under so much stress, and without access to a partner I think it would be wise to make the checkups a little more frequent for now, just to keep an eye on things. Is that comfortable for you?” When he nodded in the affirmative she set it up for Friday three weeks from then. Then the appointment was over and he was walking back to the waiting room to meet up with Mario. They didn’t talk until they were almost back to the house, Mario sensing that Geno needed a little space.

“How did things go? Everything good?” Geno could tell he was trying to be casual, but he wasn’t quite managing it. 

“Is fine. She worry little bit about stress level, want to watch closely, but for now things good. Offer to do test for tay-sachs. See if I carry”

“Was that something you were worried about?”

Geno nodded, wiping his eyes.

“Oh Geno,” Mario sighed drawing him into a hug and starting up a soothing purr.

“If I have gene, still won’t know about if Dima has though.”

“Dima huh?” Geno hadn’t realized he had never used Dima’s name before with anyone here. “Is it likely that he does?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Geno,” Mario paused, seeming uncertain about what he was about to say, “Geno, it might be time to get in touch with him. 

“Not yet, soon maybe, I think about. Promise.”

“Okay kiddo, you do that.”

\---------------------------------------

When Geno first showed up on the ice at practices no one in the media seemed to take much notice. This lack of interest was probably at least partially because there was no name on the ‘no contact’ jersey he was constantly wearing. He wasn’t officially on the team after all, he was more of a practice buddy for now. Then someone recognized him and all hell seemed to break loose. Why was Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh wearing a jersey that signaled he wasn’t engaging in contact? Why wasn’t he on the roster when he’d been a Penguins prospect for going on two years? People wanted to know. At least, hockey people wanted to know. So Geno found himself sitting down with Media Relations, Mario, and the coaches, as well as Gonch who had volunteered himself as an interpreter when Geno had been pulled into this meeting after practice. 

The head media relations person was blunt. “So no one has bothered to tell any of us what is actually going on, and we can’t form any proper plans until we know what we are dealing with. Is anyone ready to fill us in?”

Mario looked at Geno who gave him a look of panic, then back to the PR person. “Unfortunately that is private medical information that is need to know for now. Would telling them that he has an upper body injury work?”

The media person gave a put upon sigh and put his face in his hands. “Yah, it might, for now. But don’t think that that is going to hold them off forever. Also,” he said turning toward Geno, “I was under the impression that you were a beta. I don’t mean to be rude, but eventually someone is going to notice that you don’t smell like a beta at all.”

Geno fliched. “That because not a beta. I’m an omega.” He had a feeling that that was going to be public knowledge soon. 

“But you played in the RSL.” the head PR person countered. Meanwhile the woman seated next to him, who was, as far as Geno could tell, an omega, had a dawning look of horror on her face. 

Before he could respond to her boss she spoke up. “Oh my god, all of your papers! Everything lists you as a beta including your papers. Your immigration status, we are going to have to start working on that soon and we are going to need the public on your side. I don’t know what it is you’re hiding, but I really hope it’s going to make you look sympathetic because if it paints you in a bad light it’s going to be an uphill battle.” She looked between him and Mario, “Please tell me it’s not going to make him look bad.”

“I promise you, it will make him a very sympathetic figure. And, unfortunately, it will probably make a good argument for an asylum case.” Mario spoke up.

Geno could feel Gonch looking at him like he was some sort of puzzle.

After the meeting concluded Gonch approached him, “Geno, what is wrong, you said that the drugs you were on messed you up but that you were fine. You’ve been in a no contact jersey for weeks though and they aren't bringing you into the team like normal. Is it something with your contract? Do you really have an upper body injury?”

“Gonch, please, it is not the right time yet. I promise you that I will tell you but now is not the time. It is nothing bad, I promise. Please leave it alone for now.”

“Okay, for now. But you are young and an omega and I worry about you, it’s how I was raised so you’d better get used to it.”

\-----------------------------------------

Like he had promised Mario Geno had been thinking about contacting Dima. Now, instead he was looking at an email from a very familiar Russian adress and was trying to psyche himself up enough to open it. He had no idea what to expect, why did Dima chose now to contact him after weeks of silence? He opened it. Dima had seen him in the news, heard the line they had put out about an upper body injury. Dima was worried about him. How dare Dima be worried about him. How dare he ask what happened, what was wrong. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for him to dump Zhenya and tell him to cut all ties, then act like he was worried about him. Ignoring the fact that he was sitting in the Lemieux’s living room with Mario and Sidney and the fact that he had no idea what time it was in St. Petersberg, or wherever it was Dima happened to be, Geno found himself picking up his phone and dialing a familiar number. Listening to it ring. Listening to it being picked up.

“How dare you!? How dare you ask if I’m okay? How can you do this to me? You dump me, tell me to cut all ties, and now you act like you care?! How can you do this to me!” 

“Zhenya-”

“No. You don’t get to call me that. Not any more. You threw that away.”

“... Evgeni then.” the defeat was clear in his voice. “I am sorry for how things ended between us, but I will always care for you, always care about you. I still love you, you know that is not why I ended things between us. So please, what happened? Are you going to be alright?” there was a note of pleading in his voice that Geno had only ever heard in the worst depths of his induced heats. Begging him to be okay, to answer him. But all Geno could hear was the echoes of how Dima had ended things ‘You don’t need the strings of your old life tripping you up… Zhenya, you’re nineteen. You don’t know what the hell you want.’

Suddenly he needed to tell him. He needed it like burning. “Do you remember what you said to me, when you were breaking up with me? You said I didn’t need strings from my old life, that they would trip me up. That I should start fresh. Well I won’t and I can’t. I’m pregnant Dima. And don’t you dare ask if it’s yours! Don’t you insult me that way on top of everything else!” There are tears running down Geno’s face, he can feel them and his vision is blurred. He curls up tighter around his flat stomach. Waiting for Dima to speak but hears nothing. “You’re disappointed in me. For being 19 and pregnant like some typical siberian teenage omega, going nowhere with their life. You-”

“No! No, Zhe- Evgeni, no. I could never be disappointed in you. What I am is disappointed in myself. For treating you that way. For acting like I thought I knew best, when all I wanted to do was spare myself the pain of watching you slowly drift away from me. For hurting you when I promised to always do my best not to. Evgeni… I don’t know what to say… I am sorry I…”

“Zhenya, you can call me Zhenya.” Geno’s voice was small and thick, but he meant it. He couldn’t just leave it at that though. “Do you want to know the baby? Do you want to be in our lives?”

“God Zhenya, of course I do.”

“It’s going to take a while for me to trust you again. You know that right?”

“Yes, that is as it should be. I hurt you and now you have our child to worry about to, a baby. I don’t expect you to just trust me after what I did. I hope you will let me earn that again though?” His tone was cautiously hopeful, but not like he felt entitled to anything Zhenya wasn’t ready to give. He had never acted entitled to anything Zhenya wasn’t ready and willing to give.

Geno sniffled “I have to go. I will contact you later, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll make sure to keep in touch. Do you want me to come see you? To see where you will be nesting?” Dima sounded wistful, but Geno just wasn’t ready for that yet, ready to see Dima yet. Soon maybe, but not yet.

“Maybe- maybe some time, but not now. We’ll talk later Dima, good by.”

“Good by.”

Geno wiped his eyes and looked up from where he was curled on the couch, seeing Mario and Sid just where they had been when he had grabbed his phone. Sid looked distinctly uncomfortable, but Mario looked kind of proud. “So I take it that was the conversation with Dima then?”

“Da, yes. I tell him I am pregnant.”

“How did it go?”

Geno bust into tears again. Mario moved over to where he was sitting, curled on the end of the couch and pulled him into his arms, rubbing his back like had happened too often for Geno’s taste in the last few weeks. He didn’t like being upset all of the time, though he knew he had plenty of reason to be. Being dependant on Mario for comfort wasn’t a great feeling either. “Okay, went okay. He want to know baby. Want to try fix what he broke. Earn trust. Wants to see where I nest.” Geno smiled at that. “I’m build best nest when time. Already found softest blanket. Will steal from Sid.”

“Hey! Don’t take my blanket! I’ll - I’ll get you your own, I know where they sell them.”

“Thank you Sid. You best.”

Where they sold them turned out to be a gift shop in Nova Scotia. Sid got him three. 

\------------------------------------------

Gonch figured out what was going on about a week later. Because Geno might be just a little superstitious and not just about hockey. They were in the locker room after practice when someone asked him if he wanted to cut his hair. It was getting long enough to get in his eyes and bother him on the ice. They wanted to recommend a barbershop. Geno refused, loudly much to the amusement of most of the guys. Then he heard someone behind him drop something and curse in Russian. When he turned around Gonch was staring at him, more specifically his eyes were jumping between his face and his stomac. He knew. 

He was kind enough to respect Geno’s superstitions and not mention it.

\------------------------------------

Overall pregnancy wasn’t treating him that badly, his chest ached every now and then as it developed, he was having to remind himself that this fatigue wasn’t the kind he was supposed to push through, and well morning sickness sucked royally. His nose and his instincts were starting to go into overdrive as well. Luckily, even if he was stressed and felt like he was on the edge of being deported to somewhere without safety, he felt safe everywhere he was spending time. The team was starting to smell like family and safety, like protection, and that made the fact that he was in an unfamiliar land where he barely spoke or understood the language more bearable. Less stressful. And the doctor was definitely still worried about his stress levels. At his next visit she suggested that it might help his stress levels if he was to be proactive about his immigration status, getting a lawyer and starting the process of straightening out his situation as opposed to waiting for someone to notice and try to deport him. He reluctantly agreed. She was also able to give him the good news that he was not a carrier for tay-sachs. He almost cried. 

Geno missed his mother. When he’d told her he was going to have a baby she had been so excited, but also so angry with Dima for leaving him. It had been all he could do at the time to convince her not to call Dima up in a rage and tell him he had abandoned her pregnant son. Convincing her that he would be going back to hockey after the baby was born was something of a lost cause. He didn’t think she would believe it until she saw it. He doubted she would ever approve of it. She wanted to know everything about the pregnancy. Every ach and pain as his body changed, adapted to carrying the baby, and later caring for it, was of interest to her. When she didn’t show up on his doorstep he had to admit that he was impressed with her restreinte. Her support and reassurance was invaluable, but no matter how much he tried to discourage it it almost always came with a mention of how disappointing the sire of his child was. He might not be on the best terms with Dima, but that was his business. It was also his business if he wanted to reconcile and try again. 

And he did want to try again. Dima was staying in almost constant contact, sending at least one email a day, even if Geno hadn’t replied to the last one, and calling every few days, even if only for a couple of minutes. The apology that has mattered most to Geno so far is that Dima is doing his best to show that he is willing to be part of Geno’s new life. Geno is starting to trust that he means it, and that he still loves him. He suggests that Dima plan a visit for the first week of November. He should be almost showing by then if not before, and it would feel good to have the sire of his baby inspect where he is planning to nest and approve it before he seriously begins the nesting process. Dima seems eager at the prospect of seeing him and being allowed involvement in the pregnancy process. 

Weeks pass and Geno gets more careful on the ice, pushing himself less. He can tell that people notice, but other than some concerned looks no one comments. 

\-----------------------------------

It’s October when his agent sets him up with an immigration lawyer, a Ms Ortiz, who specializes in cases like Geno’s. When he talks to her over the phone she seems nice and sounds confident that they can keep him in the country, possibly as a permanent resident. She gets the basics of his situation during the phone interview with his agent and Mario jumping in with anything they thought was relevant. He had faxed her his papers and a copy of his passport before the meeting so she didn’t have to play catch up during the conversation. 

“First of all I want to make it clear that as my client, anything you say to me is protected by lawyer client privilege. Unless you are actively planning to commit a crime anything you say is confidential. Do you understand?”

Geno was pretty sure he got the point, so he said yes. They had suggested he bring in a professional interpreter for this conversation, but Geno decided that he would rather try and struggle through with the help of his agent than have another pair of ears listening in on what was probably going to be discussed. His agent seemed comfortable with that so it’s what they did. 

“Okay, why don’t you start at the beginning. How did you end up where you are?”

“I love playing hockey, but in Russia can’t play if omega. When I present as omega my family help hide so can keep playing. When I in Russia I enter NHL draft, get drafted by Penguins. But something wrong with immigration paperwork and agreement with Russia Sports Federation and RSL. Have to stay for two years. I accidentally go into heat, spend heat with Dima and get found out by coaches. Make me sign NDA or I get in big trouble, can’t play. If I don’t sign everyone know I am an omega and I lose everything. Maybe go to jail for lying on papers for government. So I sign what they want. They make me agree to have all heats in off season, make me spend offseason in countryside, let Dima be there. Induce heats without telling me first time, after that I know, but can’t stop them. Heats so bad, scared Dima, hurt so much, thought I would die. Make me sign more papers, agree to longer contract. Can’t leave because team keep my passport. Next offseason they let me stay home, still bad, not as bad. I find out training not in Russia this year, in Helsinki, Finland. Know they need to give passport back so can travel there with team. Knew might not have another chance to get out for long time. Knew something bad happen if I stay. So I leave, run away, go to US embassy and get visa for work pending. Get ticket to Pittsburgh. Come here. Then I find out pregnant. Know what bad would have happened if I stay.”

When he didn’t elaborate on that Ms Ortiz prompted him. “What would have happened Mr. Malkin?”

“In papers RSL make me sigh, there was claus. Say if I get pregnant they make me terminate. I know if I not terminate get revealed as an omega, maybe go to jail for lie, maybe never get to hold baby. Whatever I do bad things happen. Something in me knew, had to get out.” 

This was news to everyone else around him, he hadn’t told that last part to any of them. Dima might know, but Geno wasn’t sure if he had read that particular set of papers, he’d read most of them though so probably. He abruptly wishes that Dima was here, he could use the support of his alpha. 

His alpha, he hadn’t realized before that that he was considering Dima his alpha again. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Was he forgiving to easily? Going too fast? They hadn’t actually seen eachother since Dima dumped him. He would think about this later, for now he needed to focus.

“Well given that Russia is known not to issue passports to omegas on their own without the endorsement of their alpha, and given the known restrictions on travel placed on omegas and everything else that goes on in Russia I think we have a pretty good case as to why you had no choice but to use fraudulent paperwork to enter the United States. I don’t think that is going to be much of a problem. Given you are currently unmated and pregnant I think an argument can be easily made that sending you and your child, when it is born, back to Russia, given its policies, would be placing you both at undue risk. Russia is well known for its human rights violations against omegas including it’s abuse of those who try to hide. I think you have a very good chance at asylum and permanent residency, especially if you come forward and reveal your status to the government freely. Would you like me to start that process now?”

“Yes please.” Geno was honestly terrified at the prospect of the government knowing he was an omega. But he kept reminding himself that this was not Russia, he would not be persecuted and turned into a baby making factory at the whims of the state. Also, he reminded himself, soon he wouldn’t be able to hide anyway. Now his scent was slight from early pregnancy, much like a suppressed scent, but soon it would change, blooming into the full milky scent of mid to late pregnancy and those who were nursing. His belly, still mostly flat if softening, would fill and round with his child. There would be no more hiding. Best to make the most of it. 

\----------------------------------------

Later Mario caught him and pulled him to the couch in his office. “Geno, kid, why didn’t you tell anyone about that clause? Have you been keeping all that to yourself all this time?” The concerned wrinkle was between his eyes and he smelled worried. 

“Dima might know. He read a lot of the papers I sign.”

Mario looked at him with sadness in his eyes. “You know, back when I first started in the league I thought they treated me like shit when it came to me being an omega. And frankly they did. But it wasn’t until later, when I started learning about what goes on in other parts of the world, that I realized how bad it could really have been.” He pulled Geno so his nose was in the comforting scent at his shoulder. “I am so sorry you were put through all of that. And I am so glad that you are safe here with us now.”

Geno was glad to. 

\-------------------------------------------

Dima’s visit was rapidly approaching with the beginning of November. Geno wasn’t sure how he felt about it. That was a lie, he was excited, he was practically vibrating with the knowledge that he would get to see his alpha again soon. But he wasn’t sure if that was right. Dima had hurt him, but he hadn’t done what he did to cause Geno pain, he’d been trying to do what was best for them both. He’d realized his mistake and had been doing everything he could to make up for it. Geno wanted to forgive him, he had forgiven him. He just wasn’t sure if that was a mistake he would later regret. His mother really wasn’t helping. She definitely hadn’t forgiven Dima. Geno was convinced that she thought Dima had known he was pregnant when he told Geno to leave. She hadn't actually come right out and accused him of it, but she did keep mentioning that sometimes alphas knew first, very early on. He didn’t think she was as subtle as she thought she was being. 

When the day finally came Sid volunteered to drive him to the airport after practice to pick up Dima. Geno paced as they waited outside the international terminal, passing back and forth in front of Sid who had found a bench to sit on and was watching him and the arrival board he kept checking. He should have expected the flight to be delayed, but he hadn’t. 

“Geno, sit down, you're making me tired just watching you. Also I think you are starting to freak out that guy working at the mini mart.” 

Geno sat and about five seconds later started fidgeting. 

“Tell me about this guy. Does he speak any English? Is he old? Balding, athletic, tall, short, just tell me about him.”

“Yes he speak English. He is not that old. Mid thirties. Smaller than me. Dark hair. Kind. Holds me down and-”

“Okay Geno, I don’t need to know that!”

“What? You ask about him.” Geno smiled, smug.

All Sid could do was groan and cover his face with his hands. At least he had gotten Geno to relax. 

Geno always thought it was cute when Sid went red like that. 

Finally the arrival board changed to indicate that Dima’s flight was at the gate. Geno jumped to his feet so he could see over the crowd and watch for his alpha’s familiar face that he hadn’t seen in far to long. He finally spotted him coming down the hallway with a bag slung over one shoulder. He looked tired but when he spotted Geno excitedly waving to him his face lit up with a smile and he began walking faster until he was standing right in front of Gino. 

“Hello Zhenya, am I allowed to say that I missed you?” He looked so hopeful that Geno couldn’t find it in himself to hold back. He threw himself forward and wrapped his long arms around Dima, drawing him in close and burying his nose in his hair. 

“Yes. Yes I missed you to. So much. I know I should probably still be angry with you, my mother certainly hasn’t forgiven you yet, but I’m not. Not right now anyway. I am so glad you are here! I can’t wait to show you where I will start the nest. It will be soon, I can feel it.” Geno had yet to step back from Dima so he was speaking into his hair, muffling his words in the side of his head. Then he heard Sid clearing his throat. Loudly. “Yes Sid, I will introduce you. Dima this is Sidney Crosby, Sid this is Dmitriy Ryzhikov, my alpha. Happy now Sid?”

“Extatic. Do you have checked luggage that we need to pick up?”

“Yes, I do. And Zhenya, there is something important that I need to talk to you about when we are alone, okay?”

Geno was warey, “Is it bad”

“No, not bad, just an opportunity I need your input on.”

“What kind of opportunity?”

“We will talk later, yes?”

“Fine, we'll talk later.”

\-----------------------------

That night, dinner with Mario’s family started off awkward (they had been expecting someone closer to Geno’s age) but soon relaxed as Dima charmed them and they saw how happy he was making Geno. Afterwards Geno got permission to use Mario’s office for a private conversation. 

“Alright Dima, what is this opportunity that you wanted to talk about?”

“My firm has offered me a transfer. I would need to spend three days a week in New York, but I could live around here. I want to take it, I want to be near you and the baby, but only if you want me to Zhenya. This is up to you.”

Geno could barely believe what he was hearing. Dima was offering to uproot his whole life to be close to them. To leave his family and friends and follow Geno to the other side of the world. They had never lived in close proximity on a permanent basis before. Would they even work spending so much time together? Geno knew he wanted to find out. “Take the offer, if you want to. I would like to have you near.” Geno ducked his head, not wanting to see Dima’s face right now. He sighed as he felt fingers carding through his lengthening hair. 

“You haven't cut it since you found out have you? You are so beautiful like this.” Geno made a small noise of protest. “Please tell me that isn’t one of your superstitions.” Geno shook his head no. “Good, because you are beautiful.”

Geno could feel himself getting wet from the proximity of the alpha, the long separation ended and the praise, but he didn’t think he was ready to do that with Dima again, so he pulled away. From the look on his face he could tell that Dima had smelled his slick and he was looking at him with a question in his eyes. Geno shook his head and Dima nodded.

“If you want I could stay in an hotel? I could take a taxi and meet up with you again tomorrow. Or I could sleep on the couch if you would prefer that.”

Geno debated with himself for a moment, considering the options before coming to a decision. “No, I want you in my bed, I want you close, I just don’t feel like having sex.”

“Works for me.” Dima clasped Geno’s head in both hands and reached up to kiss him on the forehead before releasing him.

\--------------------------------------

The next day, after practice ended, Dima joined the team for lunch. He was soon approached by Gonch. “So you’re the one.”

“I’m the one who what?”

“Got him pregnant. Right before sending him off alone somewhere he doesn’t even know the language properly.”

Dima flinched, “I didn’t know he was pregnant.”

“And now that you do? What do you plan on doing now? Because if you don’t plan on taking proper care of him you might want to step aside so he doesn’t get hurt more than he already has. Let someone else step in.”

There was a barely audible growl building in Dima’s chest “I will be here for him as much as he wants. Why? Do you want to step in?” He snapped at Gonch.

Gonch raised his palms in a calming gesture. “I’m glad to hear it. I was just checking, he was mostly alone, and a young, pregnant, omega. It is just how I was raised, to care, to worry. And he is team now, we all have his back.”

“Did he tell you he was pregnant?” Dima asked, it having occurred to him that it was still private, still early. There were certain ways in which Zhenya was very much traditional, and from how long his hair was getting Dima suspected that this would also be one of them. 

“No, I figured it out, and soon I’m not going to be the only one. It’s going to be clear to everyone with eyes or a nose soon.”

“I know, it worries him. But we will figure things out. I would do anything to keep them safe.”

“Glad to hear it.” Gonch patted him on the shoulder before turning to talk to someone else. 

\----------------------------------

The next day Dima got permission from Mario to hook up his laptop to the internet and spent most of the day connecting with his supervisors back in St. Petersburg, who were very accommodating of the time difference, sorting out the details of the transfer to their New York offices. Geno was fine with this as he was busy with the team and still riding the high of having spent most of the previous evening with Dima whispering in his ear about what a wonderful, safe place he had found to nest in. He didn’t Need the validation, but it was certainly nice to have. By the time they had fallen asleep he had been purring. 

The meeting with the lawyer was the next afternoon. It was the first time Geno had met her in person, Ms Ortiz seemed to be a middle aged beta and very well put together in a comfortable looking suit. The same group as had been in on the phone call, Geno, his agent, Mario and Ms Ortiz were now gathered in person, with the addition of Dima at Geno’s invitation. 

The lawyer began by updating everyone on the situation. “Well, I have alerted the State Department and the department of Citizenship and Immigration Services to you and what is going on. So far everyone I have been in contact with has been very sympathetic to your situation. They will eventually need your medical records to confirm that you are in fact an omega and that you are pregnant. Am I correct in assuming that you are the sire?” She asked, turning to Dima.

“Yes, I am the sire, it is my child.”

“Will you also be requesting asylum along with Mr. Malkin to stay near him and your child? If so I should start to work on that now.”

“I will be here on a green card sponsored by my employer. If you feel that it would be safer to apply for asylum along with Evgeni and the baby then we should do what you think is best. I am not so familiar with US immigration law as I am with business law, and even that is not my specialty.” 

“I think that the green card should be sufficient. If there comes a time when we feel that it is in danger of not holding up we can deal with it then. Hopefully by that point Mr. Malkin will be a permanent resident and it is not usually difficult to convince them to keep families together in situations like this. Especially if you ever decide to mate.” Geno and Dima pointedly did not look at each other at that. They weren’t ready, maybe they would have been if Dima had never left him, but it was difficult to know. 

The rest of the meeting mostly focused on the lawsuit that was being brought against Geno by Metallurg for running away and breaking his contract, arguing that he couldn’t sign with an NHL team. It was all being confused slightly by the fact that he hadn’t actually signed on with Pittsburgh as a player at the moment, just as a member of the staff. Both his agent and the lawyer seemed confident that the suit wouldn’t hold up in court, especially once the circumstances in which he signed the Metallurg contract became public knowledge. It was a pretty cut and dry case of coercion and, unless they pulled a judge that had it out for omegas, the American courts should see that and treat the case accordingly. Honestly, the idea of all of what happened becoming public knowledge made Geno feel slightly sick, but he knew it was his best chance at staying in the United States permanently and keeping himself and his child safe, so it had to be done. Staying in the US was important, but without hockey he was going to find it hard to support himself and his kid. Hockey had often come before education for him and he barely spoke English, getting any other type of job that paid a decent wage would be a challenge. He didn’t want to have to rely on anyone, not even Dima.

“So when I ready to play, won’t be problems with contract?” Geno checked, just in case.

“No, everything should be sorted out by then. You shouldn't have any problems.” His agent assured him. 

It wasn’t long after that that the meeting wrapped up. 

\------------------------------------------

Last weeks regular doctor’s appointment hadn’t happened, when Geno had made the decision to invite Dima to visit they had decided that they would push back the appointment so that he could be there. They hadn’t been doing sonograms at every appointment, but this was going to be one of the ones where they did and Geno was excited to show Dima their child. He hadn’t shown Dima any of the pictures he had yet because he wanted to see his face when he saw a little arm or a leg move. The static images just weren’t the same. He knew Dima was committed to their child, but Geno wanted to watch him fall in love. 

Dima drove them to the doctor's office in the car he had rented for the week and a half he would be visiting, since Geno still hadn’t converted his licence or gotten himself a car, too worried about his immigration status and the government finding out in the wrong way. Now that he had the go-ahead from his lawyer they were going to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles after the appointment and get his licence converted. It was probably going to be the first time a government form listed him as an omega. 

As they pulled up to the building that housed the doctor’s office and Dima searched the lot for a space Geno fidgeted. He liked his doctor, but she was an alpha and so was Dima and he was getting a little nervous that Dima might get territorial. Generally Dima was good about that stuff. He had had no problem with Geno nesting in Nathalie’s territory, but then, Nathalie never saw him naked or touched him in any way but to comfort. Most doctors were alphas or male betas, even outside of countries like Russia where that was an official policy, a hold over of prejudice from the days before suppressants and birth control. If Dima did get territorial and there was no one in the practice qualified to treat Geno that Dima approved of, then Dima would be made to stay in the waiting room. 

They made their way inside and rode the elevator up to the floor that housed the OB/GYN department, Geno startled when he felt Dima place a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeez lightly, drawing him closer. It was going to be fine, everything was going to be fine and he sould really relax. The last thing he needed was the doctor thinking it was Dima that was raising his stress levels. 

The office was running about fifteen minutes late, as usual. They spent it on the reasonably comfortable waiting room chairs, talking about everything and nothing, Geno filling out the usual forms and slowly relaxing as Dima filled out a family and medical history. By the time they got called back he felt like it was any other appointment, but maybe better for Dima being there. There were always a little bit of nerves though, after all there was always a chance that the doctor could tell him something was wrong. 

\----------------------------------

The appointment went well. Dr. Wu and Dima got along just fine. Geno shouldn’t have worried, he had forgotten that Dima only ever got really territorial over him when Geno wanted him to, like when he was in heat. Dr. Wu was pleased to see how they interacted and that Geno seemed more relaxed with Dima around. The regular examination went by without a hitch, Dima giving Geno some privacy by facing the wall for parts of it. They had been sleeping in the same bed every night, despite the fact that the Lemieux's had explicitly offered Dima the third bedroom in the guest house if he wanted it for the week. Geno really needed to sort out the living arrangements for the duration of his pregnancy and nesting soon, he could feel the nesting instinct starting to creep in and he needed to know how welcome Dima was in the Lemieux’s territory long term. If it was going to be awkward he needed to find his own place for him to nest with Dima and it needed to happen as soon as possible. He was already getting attached to the nesting site in his room in the Lemieux’s guest house. 

The sonogram at the end of the appointment went as Geno had hoped and imagined it. It was for the most part like every other sonogram they had done. The gel was cold on his stomach and it was a little awkward having an alpha he didn’t know all that well touching his stomach, but as usual, less awkward than the previous time. But Dima being there made it different. Watching Dima’s face and holding his hand as he saw their child for the first time was wonderful.

“Zhenya…” Dima breathed, a look of awe and devotion on his face as he stared at the small black and white image on the screen, watching their child shift inside of Geno. 

“I know. That is our child, growing inside me. It is amazing .” Geno couldn’t decide what to look at, the screen or Dima’s face as he teared up. 

Dima made a noise like he didn’t know what to say and raising their joined hands to kiss Geno’s before bending down to pepper his face with kisses. “You are so amazing Zhenya, so strong and brave to do this, so beautiful. Am I aloud to say that that I love you? That I love you both?”

Geno could only nod for a moment before managing to say, “Yes, yes you are. I love you to.” Now they were both crying in front of Dr. Wu. 

The doctor gave them a moment, finishing up what she needed to on the scan, before handing Geno some towels to clean himself off and informing them that everything had looked good, right on track. Though the baby was on the smaller side of average right now it was nothing to worry about. Geno wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, smiled and started to redress himself. 

\----------------------------------

“You know, I presented when I was eleven, and I have never once checked that box. Not even on my new medical formes here in America. Someone went into the system and changed it for me when I told them.” Geno shifted and turned to look at Dima where he was sitting in the driver's seat, watching him have a minor freak out while they sat in the parking lot outside of the DMV office. 

“Zhenya, you have been hiding yourself from everyone, especially the government, for eight years, that’s almost a half of your life. It’s okay to be nervous about finally starting to tell people, but it is going to be okay. Being an omega won’t get you deported back to Russia. It’s being an omega that is going to allow you to stay here, to be protected by this government and to have our child be protected, no matter how they present.” He reached out and placed a hand on the back of Geno’s neck to steady him. “If you don’t want to do this today that is okay, we can come back another time, but doing this, it will give you more independence, more freedom. I know you have been managing by getting rides and taxis but you love driving, I know you do. So just think about it. You’re safe, you’re lawyer said this was okay, everything will be fine.”

Geno took a deep breath and nodded, “Okay, I can do this.” and got out of the car.

Inside the DMV office it was crowded with people and scents. There were lines everywhere and a group of benches where people were waiting. Everything was labeled with signs, all of them in English except the one that explained in about fifteen languages that if you were going to need an interpreter you had to either bring your own or make an appointment in advance. Geno wasn’t sure about the other languages but the Russian was stilted and translated badly. It didn’t inspire a great deal of faith in the interpretation services provided. He was glad he had Dima there with him, murmuring in his ear, explaining the signs and where he should go so he didn’t have to strain himself reading the English. As he took his place in the first line, where he would hopefully get a number and the forms he needed to fill out, he clutched the documentation provided by the department of citizenship and immigration through his lawyer that okayed his somewhat fraudulent paperwork until everything got sorted out. Dima rested his hand on the back of Geno’s neck and Geno leaned into the warmth. Normally he didn’t mind chaos, loved being around people, but that had started to change the farther he got into the pregnancy. He stuck close to Dima. 

When they finally reached the front of the line and came face to face with the older omega woman behind the counter Geno stammered through an explanation for what he was there for and what it was he needed. 

“I need change Russian drivers licence.”

“All right honey, you are going to need three documents: a valid photo ID; a proof of residency; and a proof of signature. You’re also going to need to fill out these forms. Here’s your number, you can wait over there and fill them out, there are pens if you need them. They will call your number and put it up on that display when it’s your turn.” She handed him several sheets of paper and pointed him toward the benches, before gesturing toward a desk with a pot of pens and then a LED board. 

“Thank you.” Geno knew he had missed some of that, but he thinks he got the jist and leads Dima first to get a pen, then over to an unoccupied bench. He looks at the number he had been handed, then at the light board. It was going to be a while. Turning to Dima he takes a deep breath and gets a giant whiff of an alpha about to go into rut. To his mortification he buries his head in Dima’s shoulder and whines. He couldn’t believe he just did that, but he also didn’t want to stop scenting Dima, trying to wash out the scent of the strange rutting alpha. He had never reacted this way to a scent before, at most rutting alphas usually just smelled kind of unpleasant, like they were unwashed; Dima, as his alpha, being the exception smelled amazing, like spices and autumn leaves and damp earth. 

Dima wrapped his arm around him and murmured in his ear, “Shh, it’s okay. He was just passing by. I’ve got you.” Geno made a noise of embarrassment. “Zhenya it’s okay. This is normal, for you to react this way. Have you ever been around a rutting alpha when you were close to heat? Especially since we got together?” Geno shook his head. “But you know how you would likely react, like this.” Geno nodded into his shoulder. “So you know that this is normal. You’re okay.”

After a moment Geno calmed down and pulled away from Dima, looking at the board there was still a long time to wait but he should probably start on the forms he had been given. “Help me with these?” he turned to Dima holding up the forms and what looked like a list of types of ID.

“Of course. That first one is just a list of the types of documents they accept for ID. Let's make sure we have everything before we spend too much more time here.”

\---------------------------------

They escaped the DMV with a temporary licence that Geno could use until they printed off an official one and sent it to him. The beta man he had ended up working with had been vary impatient and not at all happy that Geno had a letter validating ID with incorrect information. They had ended up needing to call over his supervisor to mediate and okay the documents and the new forms stating that Geno was an omega not a beta as was on his old documentation. Geno was glad he had had someone there to translate and stick up for him. Usually he could hold his ground as well as any alpha, but this pregnancy was messing with his head. He wasn’t sure he could have managed it without backup. But it was done now and that was the important part. Now there were other things that he needed to worry about. 

“Would you feel more comfortable if I wasn’t nesting in someone else's territory?” Geno asked when they stopped at a red light. 

Dima looked up at him startled. “What do you mean?”

“Well there are other alphas around right? It isn’t your space or even really my space. It’s Mario and Nathalie’s, and Sid is there as well. Mario offered to let me stay when I told him I was pregnant, instead of staying with Gonchar’s family, because he thought I might be more comfortable in a territory where there was another omega around and it would be easier on me than finding a place of my own to nest in. But that was before you were back in the picture.” Geno realized he was rambling and stopped himself, turning to look at Dima who had started driving again and was now pulling into a parking space in a lot by a coffee shop.

“Zhenya, I want you to be where you feel safe and comfortable. If you want to nest in a space that smells only of us then we will find somewhere to rent, just the two of us. But I honestly don’t mind you staying with Mario and Nathalie and frankly Sid seems pretty harmless. If they are alright with me being in their territory and you want to nest there then that’s where you should be.” Dima paused for a moment before continuing. “I am going to be away a lot, in New York. Honestly, I think I would feel a little better if you had someone around you know and can trust when I’m not around and as you get farther along. If you want to move we will make it work, if you don’t that’s fine to.”

“I want to stay in the guest house, if they will have us.”

“Okay, we can ask them about it tonight. I know you are welcome, we can see if I am as well. I don’t think they liked me very much at first.” Dima looked rueful. 

Geno smirked. “That is because you are an old man!”

“I’m not that old!” Dima started out indignant before sobering. “But compared to you, yes, I am old. You are so young to be carrying our child, carrying this responsibility.”

“I am not that young. I know omegas I was in school with who already have two children walking around.”

“That is not so common here, in the west. People will judge both of us for being in this position. I will do what I can to protect you, but you have to be ready for that.”

This had taken a much more serious turn than Geno had intended, but it was true and they should talk about it before everything came out. “Then maybe they will have to learn something about where in Russia I am from.” Geno was done with this conversation, at least for now.

\------------------------------------------------

It turned out that Mario and Nathalie agreed with Dima about having people near who he could trust, and they were fine with Dima being in their territory for the duration of nesting. 

Geno was glad, as he was already starting to assemble his nest, though not so anyone else would notice yet. Just getting attached to the location, cleaning, and gathering and scenting materials. Like the blankets Sid had gotten for him; he had washed them three times with scentless detergent and was now keeping them in his bed, making sure that they smelled of him, and now that he was here, of Dima. 

It was still early though, and if he had had to leave he could have. He wouldn’t have liked it but it wouldn’t have been a big problem. Not like it would be later on when he really settled in for the duration. 

\-------------------------------------------

Now that Geno had a licence he needed a car. Usually his tastes leaned toward something more flashy, but right now he’s pregnant and entering the nesting phase. His priorities have changed. He wants something safe, as safe as he can find, and he would rather not spend too much money. He has savings and his current modest salary, and he knows Dima could afford to support them, but the nesting makes him want to hord his resources. So something safe and not overly expensive. 

He ended up with a small, safe, reasonably priced, SUV. It was the kind of car he wouldn’t mind cleaning baby puke out of. Or at least not because of what happened to the car. The salesperson who sold it to him didn’t seem to recognize him, that was good because what they did recognize was his nesting tendency and rightly pegged him as a pregnant omega. He guessed that he would find out for sure whether he got made if someone from the dealership turned up in the news claiming they had the scoop on why he wasn’t playing. 

\------------------------------------------------ 

Geno had been traveling with the team since not long after his arrival, but not during Dima’s visit. He had the feeling that if he went back to traveling with the team after Dima left it wouldn’t be for long. He was already starting to feel the urge to settle, to establish and fortify a nesting site where he and his child would be warm, dry, and safe. Where he could make it smell overwhelmingly of family. He knew that he was going to use his bedroom, the most common choice, though a spare room or large closet were also not unusual. What was unusual about his choice was that he was nesting in the territory of an alpha he wasn’t related to, and there was another unrelated alpha living in the space with him. Geno new that the arrangement would raise some eyebrows when everything came out in the press. 

The press. As was being pointed out to him by multiple people, including Dima, his doctor, and Mario, sooner or later the press was going to find out everything and the likelihood that it would stay a small story or blow over quickly was practically nonexistent . After all, the story had almost everything the American press loved: the American dream; sports; Russian villains; intrigue; a dramatic escape; and a pregnant teenage omega, the only things it lacked were a hollywood star, a drug scandal and an adorable animal. Though, when Geno really thought about it it did actually have a drug scandal, just not the usual kind. Everyone was worried about his stress levels. In Geno’s defence with the immigration case, hockey, and the looming prospect of the media there was a lot to worry about on top of preparing for the rest of the pregnancy and the baby. Geno wished he could have his mother or grandfather for support, but neither of them could run the risk of traveling right now. Having Dima around was great, would be great for him and his stress levels later on, but it wasn’t the same as having the support of his mother or omega grandfather. Nathalie was a good consistent presence; Sid was kind of useless as anything but a distraction, but at least he was entertaining; Honestly Mario was the one who came closest to having his mother there, having carried children he could provide a steadying reassuring presence that the others couldn’t. Mario traveled with the team a lot though, so he wasn’t going to always be around, Geno wouldn’t ask that of him anyway. As much as Dima would be around a lot more than Geno had initially thought he would, (not at all), he was going to be spending a good portion of his time in New York. All of this left Geno in a somewhat stressful position, he felt that that was valid.

\------------------------------------

A week and a half after picking Dima up from the airport with Sid Geno dropped Dima off at departures. He was going back to Russia for two weeks to sort out everything: packing, dealing with his lease on his apartment, saying goodbye to family and friends, and dealing with all of the work needed to put the transfer through and finish at his old job. He also needed to find someone to locate an apartment he could stay in while he was working in New York. The plan was for him to take the train from Pittsburgh to New York every Saturday night and return the same way Wednesday evening. This would allow him to spend the required three days on site every week while spending as much time in Pittsburgh with Geno as possible. 

Knowing he was coming back soon didn’t make it any easier for Geno to let Dima go at the airport, or any easier to get to sleep that night, missing Dima in his bed for the first time in over a week. 

\----------------------------------------------

Geno looked down at himself, more specifically he looked at his stomach, his stomach which had a small but distinct bump. He was standing in his room in the Lemieux’s guest house and was having something of a crises. He was showing. He was showing and now people would notice. Soon his scent would change to the sweet milky scent of pregnancy and people would definetly notice. Geno hadn't done much imagining when it came to how this pregnancy and people finding out would go, in fact you could say that he might have been avoiding it, but he had hoped since Dima came back to him that he would have him with him for these moments. He didn’t just want the support in the face of people finding out not just that he was pregnant, but that he was an omega, he wanted to share the excitement. Dima wasn’t going to get back for another week. 

Geno wasn’t the only one to notice his new shape. When he went to lunch with the team a couple of days later he got some ribbing for it, a few suggestions that he might want to lay off the hamburgers a little or put a little more effort into working out. Gonch watched him, a little worried about how he would react, but he was fine with it, they would find out soon enough. He was proud of how his child was growing within him. 

Later, after lunch was over and Geno had returned to the guest house, he decided to tell Dima the news by sending him a photo. He found that the best lighting to show off the bump was in the living space of the guest house and asked a vary flustered Sid to take the photo with his phone. It took a couple of tries before he got one that he liked. He emailed it to Dima with the subject line ‘look at this’. The next day, around 10AM he got a call from Dima. It was nice to get the validation that Dima was proud of him and their child and thought his changing body was beautiful. He at his alpha’s praise and at the fact that he was carrying their child. 

The next day Geno decides that he wants to tell the team. Soon the media will get ahold of it and he wants to tell the team himself. Mario agrees that it would be best if the information came directly from Geno and offeres to help him introduce the topic. There isn’t really much for him to say though before Geno has to take the stage. At least people are slightly distracted by their food.

“Okay. I have anouncement.”

“Yes, Mario said, get on with it!” Geno wasn’t sure who said it but he got the point.

“Some of you know this. Maybe all, I do not know. I am omega.” Some people seemed more surprised by this than others, Geno noticed that Flower was barely containing himself. “I hide in Russia so can play hockey, but soon everyone know. Want to tell team before reporters find out. Won’t be long because pregnant.”

“I knew it!” Flower crowed. 

“How!?” Geno was not sure if he should be concerned by this. The man was an omega and maitted so he knew he probably wasn’t sniffing around.

“Well you didn’t smell like a beta, not really, and you didn’t really smell suppressed. That and I know what pregnancy smells like because our neighbor is pregnant. I have the best nose!” Flower bragged. “Also you’ve been wearing the no contact jersey but never seem injured.”

“Okay, Settle down everyone!” The coach spoke up for the first time. “I think it should go without saying that this is information that should go no farther than those here now. I don’t want to hear that the media found out about this from one of you. They will find out in due time. Do you understand me?” There was a general murmuring of ‘Yes coach’, “Good, now eat your food.”

Mario turned to Geno. “You know, I think it’s time to tell media relations what is going on, that you are pregnant and the rest of it. Soon it will be obvious to the press and they can’t help you with that if they don’t know what is happening. I know you’re reluctant to tell people, but it is time.”

“Okay, I do that.”

Mario nodded. “Good, I’ll set something up, I want to be there.” Mario could still remember how it had gone down when he informed the team of his first pregnancy. The season had been about to start and no one in the organization had taken the news well. His agent had made sure that there was a clause in his contract that covered what would happen if he got pregnant, but it had always been made vary clear to him by the management that he was expected to avoid pregnancy until he stopped playing. It was a good thing his contract was air tight because they did their best to screw him over. Most of the people from that era were no longer with the organization, but there were still a few of the old guard left and Mario wanted it to be crystal clear where the Penguins organization was going to be coming down when it came to what was going on with Geno. Geno wasn’t the only omega under contract in the Penguins organization, but he was the only one since Mario to carry a pregnancy during their career. Mario’s first pregnancy hand been unprecedented for an active player, at least one who didn’t make the decision to retire either on their own or under pressure from their club. Things had improved since then, largely the result of pressure from people like Mario, but it was still unusual for a omega to continue with hockey after a pregnancy. The social pressure to stay at home with children was immense. He knew that that wasn’t a pressure Geno intended to cave to or a path he would take of his own choosing. 

\----------------------------------------

In Geno’s opinion the head of PR was far more surprised than there was really call to be. He was an omega, they knew this, they also knew there was something private that was preventing him from playing, it shouldn’t be that much of a leap finding out that he was pregnant. The omega woman who worked in PR, who he had met at their meeting at the beginning, wasn’t nearly as surprised as her bos and was quick to start asking questions.

“So, Mr. Malkin, what is it that you need from us?”

Geno wasn't sure what he would need aside from help in general with the media if they made this into a big story. He looked around at the people seated at the table, all of them probably ten years his senior but for the intern taking notes. He had never really been the one to manage the media about and around him. It had always been a team or his agent. Geno shrugged. “Not really know. But if turns into big story, won’t handle well on my own with baby coming.”

“Okay, so there are a couple of ways we could work with this. We could wait for people to figure out what is going on with you on their own, or we could try and get out in front of this. We could set up an interview for you or just release a statement, however you are comfortable.”

Geno looked at the penguin shaped brooch on her shoulder. He didn’t want to make a big announcement. It was bad luck. The team was one thing, they were getting to be good friends, complete strangers were different. He could tell that they were hoping he would go for the announcement, but he just couldn’t do it, not yet. “Want to wait. They find out when they find out.”

The woman let out a breath and gave him a small smile that only looked a little disappointed. “Okay. That might make it a little more complicated when people do figure it out. It might look like we were trying to hide it for reasons not to your benefit, especially since we fed them that line about an upper body injury.” Seeing Geno begin to shift nervously she was quick to assure him, “Don’t worry, it won’t be anything we can’t deal with. For now we can try and set up a few plans for how we want to respond when people do start asking, maybe try and give you an idea of the kinds of questions you might be asked. Does that sound good? We want to make sure you have as much control over this process as possible.”

“Yes, okay.”

“All right. Let’s get started by trying to establish a likely timeline for when this will probably reach the press. How far along are you?”

“Am 17 weeks.”

“So you are going to start showing soon probably, if you haven’t already. And your scent is going to change soon. You’ve been passing as a beta because of the blind scent of early pregnancy since you can’t still be on suppressants. Right? You are off suppressants?”

“Yes, am off suppressants. Since found out have been off.” Geno was quick to assure her. He’d been spending most of his free time watching American TV to help with his English and he had seen the news about the new study on strong suppressants taken during pregnancy and miscarriage and birth defect risk. He’d actually called his doctor in a bit of a panic about having been on what was probably worse than those drugs for the first three weeks of his pregnancy. She had calmed him down and assured him that everything was looking good and both him and the baby would be fine. 

“Good. Give us a couple of days and we can come up with a list of questions we think you are likely to be asked when people find out. Does that sound good for now?” At Geno’s nod she continued, “Now, start from the begining, the more we know ahead of time the more we will be able to help you.”

Geno took a deep breath and dove in.

\------------------------------------------

Later in the day Geno was going to the airport to pick up Dima. He was more than a little excited and he could tell that everyone at practice that morning could tell. It was Tanger though that asked him about it afterward. 

“Dima move here. Today I pick up from airport.” Geno couldn’t stop smiling even though he was still nervous. They had never lived together for any significant length of time. At least not if they didn’t count that first summer after he had been found out. That summer was punctuated by terrifying induced heats and Geno didn’t really think it was fare to count it since he at least couldn’t have left if he wanted to, and he did want to. So Geno was excited to try living with Dima, but what happened if didn’t work out scared him. 

“Oh, that was the guy we met a couple weeks ago right? He seemed pretty cool. Why is he moving here?”

“He is coming to be close to me and baby.”

Then it seemed to click for him. “Wait, is he the father?” At Geno’s nod his eyes got a little bigger. “He’s kind of old isn’t he? He’s got to be mid forties.”

Geno snorted. “Not as old as he look. He is 36”

“Still. Almost twice your age!”

“He is good man. Good alpha. When things go wrong with team in Russia did not have to stay. Did not have to help. Barely knew me. Would not have survived without him.”

“Okay man, if it works for you. But if someone his age had come around for my brother our parents wouldn’t have stood for it.” Tanger was shaking his head. “Hey, is this common in Russia?”

“It is not as uncommon there as it is here. But yes the age difference is big.” Gonch offers. 

Geno snorted and shook his head. “Leave relationship alone. Am adult, make own choices.” 

It was later when Sit came to sit next to him on the couch in the guest house instead of taking his nap like he was supposed to. 

“You know, people are going to ask questions like the ones Tanger was asking whether you like it or not. You and Dima don’t exactly look like a regular couple.”

“People nosey.”

“Yah, they are. You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want-” Geno snorted. “-Yah, I know, obviously right? But you never talk about how you ended up pregnant. I mean, you’re 19, do they not have emergency birth control over there?”

Geno hesitated, but eventually decided that he might as well answer. He didn’t want Sid thinking that Dima was careless with him or irresponsible or tried to get him pregnant. “The suppressant drugs they put me on, they mess me up. So messed up that they not work right. I go into heat, but no signs, not hot, not more slick, not extra horney, nothing. We have sex, don’t worry about it, not in heat so can’t get pregnant right? Only am in heat so do get pregnant.”

“Wow, man your team really messed up your life for you.”

“Did not exactly plan baby at 19. Maybe after cup, but not yet. But it happen now, not want to get rid, not want addoption, can afford, so make best of it.” Geno smiled. “Maybe win cup when baby still small, can put in. Make best picture.”

Sid laughed and shoved his hand in his face, “Don’t jinx it!”

\-------------------------------------

It wasn’t until after dinner that Geno headed over to the airport to pick up Dima. He parked and wandered over to the international arrivals area only to find that the flight had been delayed an hour. Geno sighed but he really should have expected it. He should have brought something to read, something other than the Russian- English dictionary on his phone. He spotted the mini mart and decided to see if they had anything interesting he could use to entertain himself. A few minutes later he was the proud owner of a small radio, a pair of headphones and a pack of batteries. He settled in on a bench and fiddled with the radio until he found the game that was being played that evening, it was still the first period, but it sounded like it was going well so far. He got so wrapped up in the game for a few minutes that he didn’t realize that someone had joined him on the bench. 

“How far along are you?”

Geno startled at the words from the elderly omega beside him, he looked to be in his seventies with tightly curled gray hare and deep laugh lines in the dark skin of his face. Geno blinked, trying to parse the words in a way that made sense when they seemed to come from nowhere. He made a confused noise.

“How far along are you? With the pregnancy?”

“How you know pregnant? Not really show yet?” Geno hadn’t expected people to start noticing until his scent came in. Right now, while he didn’t smell exactly like a beta and some people could tease the omega out in his scent, it wasn’t obvious; and well, he’d never exactly looked much like a classical omega, what with his gangly 190 cm frame and less than classical face including a large nose. Most people were still pegging him as a beta, not an omega let alone a pregnant one. 

The man chuckled. “Honey, I might not be young anymore, but my nose has always worked well, and then there’s that.” He gestured to the hand Geno hadn’t realized had been cradling his small bump. “I used to do that when I was pregnant to.” He gave Geno a kind smile. 

Geno flushed and smiled back at him. “Am 17 weeks.”

“Ah, so you should be feeling it move soon. I’m assuming this is your first? You look to be about the age I was when I had my fist and it isn’t so common anymore to have children younger than that. At least not around here, don’t know about where you’re from.” Geno nodded. “Where are you from?”

“Russia, near Siberia. It is steal town, like Pittsburgh.”

“So you’ve come a long way. Is the father here or back in Russia?”

Geno turned off his radio. “He was back in Russia, but coming here today.”

The man smiled. “So you’re here to meet him then?” Geno nodded. “That’s sweet. Is he good to you?” The man asked, more serious than he had been before. 

Geno smiled and nodded again. “Very good to me. And he moves to be close to me and baby. I come first for job and because not safe.”

“I am glad to hear that you think I am good to you” Geno startled at the affectionate comment. He looked up to see that there was a crowd of people passing by and Dima was standing beside him with a bag over his shoulder. 

Geno may have squealed. At the very least it was a high pitched noise. More of a yelp really. The next thing Dima knew he was being enveloped in Zhenya’s arms and was being squeezed to within an inch of his life. He could feel the still small bump of Zhenya’s stomach pushing into his abdomen and could barely resist palming it but he didn’t think Zhenya would want to risk that shot making the papers if someone had recognized him. He could wait until they were in the relative privacy of the Lemieux’s guest house. Or maybe the car. 

The older man stood up from the bench and smiled at them. “Well, it was nice talking to you, I wish you all of the best. I would love to talk more but I see my grand daughter over there and I should probably go meet her before she wanders over to the baggage claim.”

In a move that surprised all of them Geno let go of Dima and reached over to hug the man goodbye before he looked over to an excited looking teanager who, woyingly, was wearing a Penguins hoody and staring at Geno. Before he could go over to her though she made her way over to the three of them. 

“Are you Evgeni Malkin?” 

Geno didn’t know what to say. He’d just been telling his life story to her grandfather, who he didn’t think had recognized him as a hockey player, and now she was pulling the pieces together. Her grandfather must have seen the panic on his face because he leaned over and murmured in his ear, “Don’t worrie, I know how teanagers can be with secrets, she won’t hear it from me.”

Geno relaxed, smiled at the girl, and noded. He ended up taking a picture with her and, under protest that he wasn’t really a Penguin yet, signing her sweatshirt. After that the two groups got separated on the trip to the baggage claim, where they picked up Dima’s two suitcases, then headed out to the parking lot. 

When they finally made it back to the Lemieux’s guest house they pulled Dima’s cases into Geno’s, now their, bedroom, and fell into the bed together. It didn’t take long for the cuddling to move on to Geno taking off his shirt so that Dima could get an up close view of the bump that was their child. He lavished it with kisses, palming it and moving the kisses up to Geno’s lips. For the first time since they had gotten back together Geno wanted to take things farther than making out. He wanted Dima to use his body and call him names and give him pleasure like he had before everything had ended between them. It didn’t take long to communicate that to Dima, between his gasped words and the thick smell of arousal and slick he was producing. Dima seemed more than willing to cooperate with Geno’s plan for the night. 

\--------------------------------------------

Geno had been talking to the trainers and his doctor about how to stay in shape as the pregnancy progresses. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep up the training he was used to as the baby got biger, both because he would get larger and his balance would shift, and because it would place him and the baby at risk. Their suggestions centered around the stationary bike and swimming. They also suggested yoga to help him maintain flexibility. Once the baby was born and the nesting period was over the trainer told him they could talk about getting him back into competitive shape, but he shouldn’t worry about it before then and risk doing himself or the baby harm. So Geno had gotten himself a membership to a local indoor pool and signed himself up for a prenatal yoga class his doctor recommended, the stationary bike he already had access to, both at the team’s training facility and in Mario’s home gym. 

Now that Geno had admitted to himself that he was really nesting he had made the decision not to go on road trips with the team anymore. So on days when the team wasn’t around to practice and train with he had started up a training rotation. First he would do some simple yoga, then spend the morning at the pool, then he would eat lunch and take a nap, then spend a short time on the bike then another short nap and use the rest of his day to take care of any errands that needed doing or practicing English or just fussing with the nest and getting ready for the baby. As far as strength training went he was pretty much just maitaing a baseline for as long as he could before he was told to stop. He was dreading being told to stop skating, but he knew it would happen sooner or later, his balance would eventually be shot and falling could be catastrophic after a certain point. For now his balance was still good, but he was already being watched carefully at teem skates, now that the team knew everyone was keeping an eye on him; they were being careful, nothing to fast and nothing fancy. That was his new training guideline in everything he did, nothing to fast and nothing fancy. 

It was Wednesday and since Dima had only just arrived and wasn’t scheduled to start in New York until Monday Geno had him all to himself and didn’t feel like parting with him, Dima didn’t seem keen to split up either. Geno was scheduled to go to his first prenatal yoga class that evening and the brochure for the class said that partners were welcome so Geno decided Dima could just tag along. 

The class was being held on the second floor of an old brick building that had an all natural, sustainable, fair trade toy shop facing the street. There was an elevator, but most people seemed content to take the stares, even those who looked like they might give birth any day. It was a very small, sketchy looking elevator. The class seemed to be a good mix of genders and people were at various stages of pregnancy. Geno was clearly the youngest one there by a good few years. He was not the only one to bring his partner with him, there were three prospective fathers, including Dima, there and one alpha woman who was clearly looking forward to being a Sosa. Everyone was milling around, talking before the class was supposed to start. 

“Hi, I’m Hadas. Is this your first time here?”

Geno looked to his left at the young omega woman extending her hand toward him. She was the one he had seen enjoying the attentions of the female alpha and appeared to be only a few years older than he was. He took her hand and offered his own name. “Evgeni, but can call me Geno. Yes, is first time at class. Dima, my alpha.” He said gesturing toward him. 

Dima extended his hand to shake with Hadas and offered a, “Pleased to meet you.”

“And this is my alpha and wife, Ariel.” Hadas said gesturing toward the woman who had wandered over from where she had been talking with the other sires who were at the class. “Honey, this is Geno and his alpha Dima. Geno has a Russian name, but he made the accurate assumption that I’d just screw it up, maybe you could call him by it if he actually prefers it?”

“You speak Russian?” Geno asked, somewhat excited at the prospect of having someone he could talk to and completely understand who wasn’t Dima or Gonch and his family. 

“Not perfectly but yes, I do. My parents are immigrants and we spoke it a lot at home. So what is your name?”

“Evgeni, but the only one here in America who calls me Zhenya is Dima. You can call me Geno.” He smiled as he shook her hand. “Are you often here at the class? It’s just that this is the only week that Dima will be able to come and my English isn’t very good yet.” It was a relief to speak Russian for a moment. 

“I’m here every other week or so, I can’t always get away from work in time to come, but I make it when I can. I would be happy to help you when I am here if you would like. I don’t know if you have more trouble with accented English, but the instructor can have a really thick Mexican accent sometimes.”

Geno was getting to be alright with the French Canadian accents on the team, but that was about it. “Thank you, that would be a big help.”

Hadas broke into the conversation with a nudge to Ariel’s side, “Look, I know you’re busy stealing my new friend with your linguistic prowess, but I think the instructor is trying to get the class started so we should probably get some mats set up now.” 

It turned out that Geno did have more trouble than he usually did parsing out the instructor's words, but everything was demonstrated, so he figured he was going to be fine. 

After the class ended Hadas asked Geno if he and Dima would like to go to a bakery and tea and coffee shop that was nearby. “They have a great selection of teas we can have and the most amazing shortbread cookies.”

Geno was definitely on board with that plan.

Once they had made it to the shop, only a couple of blocks down from the building with the yoga studio, and had put in their orders they found a booth. 

Hadas settled in against Ariel’s side with her tea and smiled at Geno. “It’s so nice not to be the only one at that class who’s not pushing thirty! Most people weren't weared about it to my face, but some of the people who were there last month were dicks about the fact that we decided to have a child so young. I mean, I’m 23, she’s 24, we aren’t actually babys.”

Geno shifted, “Only 19, people make problem?”

“Oh don’t worry, none of those people came back this month, you’ll be fine.” Hadas was quick to assure him. “How far along are you? I’m just past five months right now.”

Geno felt something fluttering in him stomach, he had been feeling it on and off all day. This morning he had thought it was gass, but now he wasn’t so sure after hearing some of the other parents talking about feeling their baby’s move. He rubbed his small bump before answering. “Around four months.”

“Can you feel it moving yet?” 

Geno felt another flutter and smiled, “Think so, only start noticing today though. Is like, what is word?” He turned to Dima, “Butterflies?”

Dima smiled at him and reached over to place his hand next to Geno’s on the bump even though they knew he wouldn’t feel anything yet. “It feels like Butterflies.” He translated for Geno, rubbing the bump over where their child rested with a large, warm hand. 

Eventually they needed to go their separate ways, but first they exchanged phone numbers so they could get together outside of the class if they wanted to. Geno could tell he liked Hadas and Ariel already and was looking forward to seeing them again. It would be nice to start making friends outside of the Penguins organization. 

That night, as they lay in bed together, Dima buried his head in Geno’s scent glands, first at his neck, then moved down towards his groin. He kissed the bump on the way down as he passed it, then nuzzled in making Geno laugh. “What are you doing?! That tickles!”

Dima looked up at him, a soft smile on his face. “Your scent is changing. You smell like warmth and honeyed milk. It’s wonderful.”

Geno gasped, “Yah?” Smiling he started to run his fingers through Dima’s hair before pausing, the look on his face taking on a little concern. “How soon do you think it will be obvious?”

“I’m not sure, but soon I think. If you wear a fake scent you might be able to throw people off for a few days. Do you want to do that?”

“No, no I don’t. It’s time to face the press isn’t it? I’m not ashamed of myself or the baby or you. I just worry about people knowing. I’ve never had this many people know before and not have it be terrible. In Russia the RSL was holding this over me, the press finding out, they would have torn me apart, when it gets back to Russia they will destroy me there.”

Dima crawled back up the bed until he was face to face with Geno, running his hands through his lengthening hair. “Zhenya…”

“I don’t want my family to have to deal with that, but I know there is nothing I can do to stop it.”

“They will be okay. You were all so carefull, there will never be enough evidence to prove they knew. They will be safe.”

“They will still have to listen to everything that is said about me though. I will be a disgrace, what if they are made paryas?”

“Zhenya, eventually this will all blow over and they will be alright. Your family blame you for none of this. It is not your fault. Do you understand me Zhenya?”

Geno nodded and burrowed his head into the scent glands at Dima’s shoulder, settling in for the night.

\-------------------------------------------------------

The next day there was an home game. When Geno showed up to the morning skate he could tell that people were noticing the change in his scent. The other omegas on the team were hanging out closer to him than they usually did, they weren’t really particular buddies with each other, and the rest of the guys were hovering like they expected him to trip and fall at any moment. It was like he was made of glass suddenly. He was glad there was no press at morning skate that day but he understood the behaviour. The scent of pregnancy was designed to draw people in. It encouraged omegas to pack up and drew out protective instincts in alphas and betas. The scent had an evolutionary purpose, protect an omega at their most vulnerable and insure the safety of the next generation. 

One of the coaches must have had the forethought to send word to the media people because the woman Geno had been working with showed up at the end of skate to talk to him. 

“Do you feel ready for the media to find out about your pregnancy? Because at this point if you get recognized in public they will find out. If you’re careful you might be able to keep this a secret for a couple more days, but not more than that. Unless you plan to stay in your nest for the rest of the pregnancy?” She gave him a sceptical look.

“No. Am ready.” Geno wasn’t really, but he recognized that she was right. It was time to let people find out if he didn’t plan to hide in his nest with his child for the rest of his life.

“Okay then. My advice is that you spend the game up in the press box with Mr. Lemieux. I know that that might feel like I’m throwing you to the wolves, but at this point you are going to have to really own it. You can’t give them the idea that you are ashamed of this. You need to win them over, be the omega proud that they are carrying their alpha’s child and the hockey player confident that they will return to their career. I don’t know how much research you’ve done about how the media have reacted to other hockey players that have been pregnant, but you can’t let them smell your fear. You can have them eating from the palm of your hand, but you need to own it and take control of the situation as much as you can.”

Geno took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, I try, tonight in press box.”

“Good. We’ll find an interpreter we trust to sit with you.”

\--------------------------------------------

Dima was spending the day working, getting ready for his new job, and making calls trying to find an apartment near New York, so Geno had plenty of time on his own that afternoon. He found himself sitting alone in the living area of the guest house, at least he was alone until Sid showed up and sat down next to him on the couch. 

“Need nap, not sniff around me.” Geno was getting really tired of the hovering and it was only the first day. Hopefully it would grow on him.

“I heard you talking to Mrs. Martin from media relations today. Tonight's the night eh?”

Oh, so that was what this was about. “Yes. Tonight media find out. Hope decide, not important, leave me alone.”

“Come on Geno, you know that isn’t going to happen.” Sid looked at him with a little pitty. “You’re too much of a story to just ignore like that. You’re too good at hockey, too much personality. People like you.”

\-----------------------------------------

That night Geno put on one of the suits that PR had insisted he needed if he was going to be traveling with the team and going to games. He couldn’t help but think about how it wouldn’t fit for much longer, and wondered if they would make him get new ones later in the pregnancy or if he could get away with something more comfortable. He suspected not. 

When Geno went out to the living area he found Mario waiting for him. “You look for Sid?”

“No Geno, I’m looking for you. I heard that this was going to be the day people found out about the pregnancy and figured you maybe could use some moral support. Why don’t you ride in with me. They haven’t had a story about a pregnant player here since I was pregnant while I was playing. Figured you could use some solidarity.”

Geno tried to swallow the lump in his throat without much success. “Yes, thank you.”

“Okay then, let's get going. We should get there early to get settled, they weren’t kidding, you definitely smell pregnant.”

Sitting in the box with all of the press was an exercise in patience. All he could do was wait for someone to figure it out and start asking him questions. Well, technically he could just talk to someone and tell them, but there was no way he was doing that. So Geno sat by the window with the bottle of water he was trying to convince himself not to drink all at once so he wouldn’t have to go to the bathroom every five minutes for the entire evening. Mario had left him there to go do his thing, staying close enough so he would be there if Geno needed back up, the interpreter found by PR was standing in the corner eating a bag of trail mix and waiting to be be needed. 

As the night moved on and the first intermission started Geno began catching snippets of conversation. 

The reporters had noticed the smell of pregnancy that had gradually filled the box, they just weren’t sure who it was coming from. They had already eliminated the short list of reporters who it could have been from the list of possibilities (none of their colleagues needed congratulating), and had now moved on to speculating whether Mario could be pregnant again. Some of the reporters had been around for Mario’s pregnancies though and pointed out that this smelled different, this had to be someone else, unless Mario was sick again and it had changed his scent. There were three scratched players in the box but one of them was an alpha and the other two were betas, so it couldn't be one of them. That left the man eating GORP in the corner and Malkin. No one was sure what was going on with Malkin this season, it was generally suspected that there were legal issues with his contract after he abandoned the RSL that were preventing him from being listed on the roster. That didn’t explain his strange training behaviour that had been observed during open skates and practices, but since he was a beta it wasn’t really relevant to the conversation at hand. After some subtle investigation that consisted of someone going to offer him a bottle of water and having a sniff, it was determined that the man in the corner was not the source of the pregnancy smell, his scent was thoroughly suppressed to the point that it wasn’t clear what his dynamic was. Someone was just suggesting that it might be Mario and the older reporters were just remembering wrong when the strength of the smell increased and it became obvious who it had to be. Jaws dropped. 

Geno wasn’t sure what the reporters were talking about, he was hearing the word ‘pregnant’ though, and Mario’s name a lot. No one seemed to have clued in to it being Geno who was making the box smell like honeyed milk. Miraculously the players in the box with him hadn’t given it up by hovering. Geno figured it was safe to make a toilet run. He had finished the bottle of water and needed to pee, but then, he always needed to pee now. The only problem was that there was a knot of reporters between him and the door. Geno took a deep breath, got up, and walked past them.

“Oh my god, it’s Malkin!” Fuck, he’d been made and he still really needed to pee. Geno made the decision to keep walking and deal with the fall out when he got back. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Geno couldn’t do it. He didn’t know if it was nerves or his morning sickness that still occasionally made an appearance, or if he was just sick, but he’d thrown up while he was in the bathroom and now he felt terrible. He also might have gotten some sick on his suit. He didn’t want to talk to reporters, not now. He felt horrible for messing up the plan, there was an interpreter in there that had been brought in to make him more comfortable, Mario was there as support, and all he wanted was to go curl up in his nest. He felt like he was on the edge of tears. Then his stomach lurch again and he was sprinting back to the bathroom to hurl in the trashcan, not able to reach the toilet this time. This didn’t feel like morning sickness and he’d never had nerves do this to him before, that meant he was probably sick. Of all the times to get sick, now was probably the worst he would come across for a while. Feeling like he had a moment before he would try and throw up the nothing he had in his stomach at this point again he got out his phone and called Mario who was probably waiting for him to get back and possibly fielding questions from reporters. 

“Geno? Where are you?”

“Bathroom.” Geno could feel another round of nausea rising in his throat.

“Geno, why are you calling me from the bathroom?” 

Geno retched into the toilet. The noise must have carried through the phone because Mario sounded somewhere between concerned and sympathetic when he continued. “Oh Geno… Is it morning sickness?”

“Do not think so. Feel different.”

“Hang in where you are. I’ll be by in a couple minutes and take you home.” Geno made a noise of assent and Mario hung up. 

Mario sighed and looked around at the press in the box and spotted the scratched players. Most of the press had returned to watching the game before he had needed to threaten to take away press passes for harassing him about the personal life of one of his employes. He walked over to the group of players and taped one of them on the shoulder. “Could you go find me some plastic bags? Something that could hold throw up.” That task having been taken care of he left a message with one of the staff in the locker room that if anyone was looking for him he would be unavailable except if it was an emergency. He also called Media and warned them that the news Malkin was pregnant had made it’s way to the press, but Geno hadn’t been able to talk to them because he had suddenly taken ill. 

As soon as he was in possession of a hand full of barf bags a few minutes later he went to find Geno. He didn’t like what he saw. Geno was flushed and clammy. He looked absolutely miserable as he apologized repeatedly for falling through on the plan. Mario sighed and shook his head, “Geno, it’s fine. You are clearly ill, you should be home, now let’s get you there. Have you been sick again since we got off the phone?” At Geno’s nod Mario cringed internally, this did not look like morning sickness. He helped Geno to his feet and handed him a barf bag. 

Luckily they didn’t run into anyone as they made their slow way to Mario’s car. Once they got there Mario settled Geno into the passenger seat with the barf bags and got himself buckled in before heading towards his home. The ride went by in relative silence punctuated with occasional retching. Mario was glad he wasn’t a sympathetic puker. 

As they approached the guest house Mario asked Geno where Dima was.

“New York. Need to sign to rent appartment.”

“Do you know when he’s getting back?” Mario was kind of worried about leaving Geno on his own for the night. He didn’t look good. If he kept puking and didn’t keep enough fluids down someone might need to take him to the hospital to be treated for dehydration. 

“Get back late tonight.”

Mario relaxed as he unlocked the door and helped guide Geno toward his bedroom before disposing of the barf bags in the bin outside and gathering up some bottles of water and a wastebasket and arranging them to the side of Geno’s bed. Geno looked at him with large baleful eyes. “Yah kid, I know you’re miserable, but Dima will be back later and you should be fine. Get some rest and drink some fluids if you can hold them down. I’ll hang out here until Dima gets back, but you need to try and sleep.” He patted Geno on the shoulder and made his way out. Before he got to the living area he could here soft Russian, so presumably Geno had called his alpha to tell him what was going on. 

\-------------------------------------------

When Dima got home around midnight he didn’t like what he saw. Geno was asleep, which was good, but the room smelled of sickness and distress. No nest should ever smell like this. 

\-------------------------------------------

At Geno’s regular appointment with his doctor the next day they were told that Geno had the stomach flu and they probably shouldn’t have come in. Dr. Wu also told them that Geno was at risk of becoming dehydrated and that if he wasn’t able to keep liquids down by that evening he should go to the hospital. They should go before that if he started getting dizzy or confused. There were a whole list of things to watch out for, but the doctor seemed most concerned about the vomiting. 

Geno spent the day alternating between curling up in bed around his stomach, focusing on the fluttering movement inside him that reassured him his baby was fine, and puking. 

It was almost six when Dima heard a loud thump from the bedroom. He had gone to the kitchen to make dinner in the hope that Geno might be able to keep down some broth, but when he heard what sounded like a body hitting something hard he turned off the stove and rushed back to the bedroom. Geno was on the floor, slumped against the wall. He had clearly fallen trying to get to the bathroom and he was now curled up with his eyes closed. Dima dropped to his knees at Geno’s side and reached out to him. 

“Zhenya, Zhenya look at me, please. Are you okay? How do you feel?” He pleaded with Geno.

“Dizzy.” Geno groaned after a moment. He finally opened his eyes and looking up at Dima let out the whine of an omega in distress. 

Dima made the decision. “Okay, we are going to the hospital. Now. Up, up you get.” Dima tried to help Geno up but Geno was resisting him. 

Geno wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he did know that something was wrong and Dima wanted him to leave his nest. He didn’t want to leave his nest. “Don’t want to leave.”

“Zhenya, I know you don’t want to leave the nest right now, but we need to get you to the hospital, you and the baby. You need help and they can help you there, both of you.” Dima pleaded with him. If he had to he would call 911 and the EMTs could sedate him and carry him out, but that could be traumatic and if possible Dima would like to avoid it. 

“Help the baby?” Geno seemed confused, but Dima felt like he was getting somewhere.

“Yes, they can help you protect the baby, but only if you come with me to the hospital.” Dima was getting more and more worried. Geno seemed to have gone downhill fast. Half an hour ago he hadn’t been nearly this bad, in fact he seemed to be improving. 

“Okay.” Geno finally cooperated with him, standing with his help. Before they left the bedroom Dima wrapped one of Geno’s soft blankets around him so he could carry some of his nest into the unfamiliar environment of the hospital. Hopefully it would provide some comfort. 

Dima was glad that he had familiarized himself with the local hospitals when he first arrived. You never knew when you might need to know. 

By the time they made it to the hospital and parked Geno was nearly unconscious. Dima was starting to think that maybe he should have called the ambulance. 

“Zhenya, beautiful, work with me here, we need to get you inside.” Something seemed to be getting through because Geno was trying to help himself stand. Dima more or less carried Geno inside wrapped in his nesting blanket. The ER was busy. Dima found a chair and settled Geno in it before he made his way up to the check in desk and attempted to get the attention of the middle aged beta woman sitting behind it. 

“Excuse me, ma’am, Excuse me!” She finally turned to look at him. 

“Yes, sir, what can I do for you?”

“My partner, he’s pregnant, he has the flu.” He pointed out Geno who was slumped against the wall. “The doctor said to take him to the hospital if he got worse. He’s dizzy and confused and probably very dehydrated. Please, he needs help now.”

“Sir, there are a lot of people ahead of him in line that have been waiting a long time, but I can send a nerse over to have a look at him and see if we can jump him to the front. Here are some forms that I need you to fill out.” That seemed to be all he was going to get from her for now so he took the clipboard and pen and went over to sit beside Geno who did nothing but blink at him slowly. Dima signed and started reading the colorful sheets and filling out the information they were asking for to the best of his abilities. Twice he had to cross things out and write them a second time in English. 

It was probably only minutes later, but felt like much longer, when a nurse came over to them and started doing a cursory examination of Geno while asking Dima questions once it was clear that Geno wasn’t going to answer. When she was done she looked at Dima. “Yes, we can take him now, a bed just opened up. I’ll just go get him a wheelchair.” 

Soon Geno was settled into the hospital bed in a room with two beds but no other occupant, and hooked up to an IV trying to replace the fluids he had lost. The doctor was examining him and asking Dima questions. The first doctor they had assigned Geno, back in the ER, had been a male alpha, he had been the first one to illicit a reaction from Geno since his arrival at the hospital, unfortunately it was a distress reaction. They had quickly switched him out for the current doctor, an omega man with a non threatening, comforting scent. “It’s a good thing you got him here when you did, is there a reason you didn’t bring him in earlier?”

Dima shifted, the doctor was right, he should have seen the signs sooner. But it had looked like Geno was improving, until it didn’t. “He’d started to keep water down, it looked like he was getting better. Then everything got worse so quickly.”

“That happens sometimes. It can be hard to predict, especially with a pregnant patient.” The doctor assured him. “He’s been admitted him to the hospital. He should really stay here at least over night. He’s probably not going to wake up for a while so if you need to call anyone and let them know what is going on this might be a good time? I know he’s an adult, but maybe his parents if they are on good terms?”

Dima nodded, he should really contact the Lemieuxs, and Zhenya’s parents would want to know what was going on. He wasn’t looking forward to that phone call. Zhenya’s mother in particular wasn’t a fan of his. At the beginning it had been his father that didn’t like him so much because of the age difference, Zhenya’s mother had been the support, but after he had tried to let him go in Finland that had changed. It was not quite 7PM in Pittsburgh, so that meant it wasn’t quite 4AM in Magnitogorsk. He doubted he would endear himself further calling his parents now, when Zhenya was stable and being treated, but waiting could be just as bad. He decided to bite the bullet and make the call. If no one picked up he would try again in a few hours. 

The phone seemed to ring for a long time. Finally it was picked up. “Hello?” The voice on the other end was groggy and the connection wasn’t great but it sounded like Zhenya’s father. 

“Mr. Malkin?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Dmitriy Ryzhikov, I am calling because Zhenya is in the hospital.” He could hear frantic movement and what sounded like the man waking his wife. 

When he came back to the phone Zhenya’s father seemed much more awake. “What do you mean he’s in the hospital? What happened? Should we try and come over there?”

“He has the flu, his condition got worse so I took him to the hospital like his doctor said to. They are giving him fluids and fever reducers and say he and the baby are going to be fine. I just thought you would want to know what was going on now rather than finding out later.”

“Of course. I am glad the doctors say they will both be fine.” He was clearly relieved. “Can I speak to him?”

“He’s sleeping now.”

“Alright, we can talk later, when he wakes up and is feeling better. I have to go so I can explain to his mother, but keep us informed okay.”

“Of course.” After they hung up Dima lett out a breath of relief, he was glad he hadn’t had to talk to Zhenya’s mother. 

The call to the Lemieux's was much less stressful. After that there was nothing to do but stay close to Zhenya and hope his scent provided some comfort to add to that of the blanket they had brought from the nest and wait for Zhenya to wake up. 

\-------------------------------------------------

When Geno woke up he was groggy. This did not smell like his nest, well, a little bit, but there was so much else going on, so many strangers, so many noises he couldn’t identify. Alarms and announcements and as his eyes cleared of sleep and he looked around, he realized he must be in the hospital. He hadn’t realized he’d been that sick, but he must have been because he was in the hospital and Dima was dosing in a chair next to his bed. From the quality of the light coming through the window it was early morning, not long after sunrise. Giving another, more careful look around Geno realized that he was wrapped in one of his nesting blankets, Dima must have made sure to bring it. That thought made him smile as he pulled it up to his face and took a whiff of the comforting scent of home and family and safety. He was feeling so much better than he had yesterday. Maybe they would let him go home today. The arrival of a nurse broke into his thoughts.

They spoke softly to avoid waking Dima. “Well Mr. Malkin, it’s good to see you awake. You had everyone pretty worried last night. It’s good to see you doing so much better.”

Geno was still a little fuzzy, so he didn’t catch as much of the English as he might usually. What he did get was that people had been worried. “Baby?” he checked, needing to know if the child he was carrying was okay, he didn’t remember much from last night, but he did have vague memories of being worried.

“You don’t have to worry, everything with the baby looks good, healthy.” Geno was relieved. “Now, I’m just going to do a quick exam, check you out and see how you’re doing. Is that okay?” When Geno nodded they did a check of his blood pressure, heart rate, temperature and whatever they were looking for when they shone that light in your eyes. Everything must have looked good because the nurse was smiling at him when they finished. “Everything looks much better than last night. Breakfast will be coming in about an hour and the doctor should be in to take a look at you not long after that. Okay?” When Geno nodded they left.

\----------------------------------------

Geno spent most of the morning convincing Dima to go home and shower and change clothes, and bring him a new set as well, and then, once Dima finally left, thinking about the future. He’d thought about what would happen once he started playing again in mostly the abstract, but hadn't really considered the details yet. When he started playing again he and Dima would have an infant to care for. Dima would be home four days a week, but Geno would be gone a lot starting a few months after the birth, once nesting was over. They would need help. Geno didn’t want to leave his baby with a stranger but there was no one to ask who he already knew. His family was in Russia as was Dima’s and all of their old friends. Geno knew that some of the team had partners who stayed home with their children, but he couldn't ask any of them for help, it wouldn’t be fair. They would have to find someone before the birth, to give them time to get to know each other so Geno could trust them when the time came. 

When Dima returned Geno explained his plan to him. Dima seemed just as reluctant to find a stranger, but he had to agree with Geno’s reasoning. Geno couldn’t bring the baby to training and on road trips and Dima couldn't bring the baby to work with him in New York. So they would have to find a stranger they could trust. 

\----------------------------------------------

Geno felt so much better and wanted to get home to his nest. He also knew he would need to deal with the mess he left in the press box soon or it would only get worse. That afternoon, after examining him again, the doctor agreed that he could go home, so long as he took it easy for the next few days and could keep food and liquids down. If not he would have to come back. 

It wasn’t until the next day when he was settled back in at home that Geno realized that Dima was meant to start his job in New York Monday, tomorrow. The argument about whether Dima would be on the train to New York that night was short and Geno lost. Dima would be staying with Geno until he deemed him recovered enough. He called in to his new boss and explained the situation. When she heard that his pregnant partner was ill and had just been released from the hospital on condition that there was someone to take care of him she was very understanding. She told him to take the week if he needed it. She would see him the next Monday. 

\------------------------------------------------------

Monday morning was spent in bed, supposedly resting, while actually spending about an hour on the phone with Mrs. Martin from Media relations going over what had happened since he got sick. Dima was translating when Geno had trouble.

“Well, as you might expect there have been several articles about you being an omega and pregnant, you’ve made sports news shows as well. At this point almost everything is speculation, since no one is talking to the media about it. They’re just speculating about why you were listed as a beta and how you got pregnant, how far along you are. They’ve brought back the speculation about your escape from Finland again and some of them have realized that it’s not legal for omegas to play in Russia, or hold passports, or travel on their own. The longer the speculation goes on about why this was hidden by the Penguins organization the more difficult the press will be for the team and the more questions the players will be asked about you. If you want to keep any sort of control of this you are going to have to give an interview and soon. I know you’re sick right now, but this needs to happen as soon as possible. People have even started asking Alexander Ovechkin about your time playing together and whether he knew anything.” 

“What he say?”

“That you’re an excellent hockey player and he doesn’t know anything about the rest of it. Why, did he know?” She sounded surprised.

“No, don’t think he knew. Just wondered what he say about me.”

“Geno, I know you don’t like the idea of making a big announcement about your pregnancy, but the cat is out of the bag, people know. One big interview, please, we need to get control of this. I’ll set it up with someone sympathetic. Just let me know when you are feeling better. Do we have a deal?”

“Can there be interpreter again?”

“Of course there can.”

“Then okay. I do it.”

“Thank you Geno.”

After that they hung up. Dima watched Geno curl up on his side, he looked like he was ready to go back to sleep, even though it was only 10:30 AM. He curled himself around him and stoked his hair. 

\--------------------------------------------

By the time Wednesday rolled around and yoga class Geno was feeling better and the doctor told him he wasn’t contagious any more. Just to be on the safe side though he decided not to go to the yoga class. He didn’t want to risk getting anyone else sick. 

Around 6 PM, when the class would be letting out, Geno’s phone started ringing. When he looked at it he saw that it was Hadas. He picked up.

“Hello Hadas.”

“Geno! Are you okay? We saw you on the news, then they were saying that no one had seen you in days then you didn’t come to class! Are you okay?”

“Calm Hadas. You ask twice, I am fine now. Got sick, had flu, in hospital for while, but home. Am fine now.” Geno couldn’t help but smile, it was nice to know that there were people who would worry about him if he didn’t show up just because they liked him, not because of everything else.

“The Hospital!? Geno-”

“-Am Fine Hadas, promise. Just didn’t want to risk getting others sick so don’t got to class even though doctor said I could.”

That seemed to calm her down. “Well, we should meet up for lunch or something, I don’t feel like waiting for next class to see you.”

“Sound good.”

They didn’t end up having time that lined up until next Monday, which was almost the next class, but that wasn’t really the point, the point was that he had a friend that wasn’t on the team. 

\--------------------------------------------

Geno lay in bed tracing the pail stretch marks making their way across his belly. He had organized with Mrs. Martin for an interview on Tuesday. Today was Sunday. The interview would be with a reporter Mrs. Martin knew and trusted and it would be recorded, not live. She assured him that while they might get more interview requests and questions afterward from other news outlets this was going to be worlds better than a press conference. This would allow him to tell his story without being constantly interrupted and cut off. He would also have an interpreter there so he could be sure that he understood every question and could answer them without worrying about how to say what he wanted with his limited English. It would be nice if Dima could be there, but everyone had agreed that it would be better if Geno got to tell his story before they complicated it by introducing Dima. As much as Geno didn’t like it he knew Dima’s age would raise some eyebrows. It was best if people knew how Dima had been there for him first. 

Dima was leaving for New York in a couple of hours. Geno would be driving him to the train station and saying good bye until late Wednesday night. But before that they would have the dinner Dima was cooking, he’d been practicing since he found out Geno was pregnant. Geno had been pleasantly surprised, happy that Dima wanted to feed their child, feed him. Geno had been asking his mother for recipes, practicing with the ones she emailed him. He thought he was getting pretty good with some of them. Dima still had a way to go in Geno’s opinion. The smells coming from the kitchen tonight were very good though, and Geno smiled as he heard Dima calling for him to come and eat. 

The meal was quiet as was the drive to the train station. When they arrived they sat for a moment in the car, not looking at each other. “I love you.” Geno hadn’t planned to say it, they hadn’t said it much recently, preferring action, but he meant it. 

“I love you to. Both of you. Keep yourself safe okay, you’ll do fine in the interview, just relax and tell the truth. Don’t be scared, people here are on your side. Remember that.” He cupped Geno’s face in his hand before drawing him in and kissing him with intent then held his eyes until Geno nodded. Then Dima got out of the car and grabbed his bag from the trunk before walking into the station.

\------------------------------------------------

Geno heard the tinkling of bells as he pushed open the door to the restaurant he was meeting Hadas at for lunch. He’d skipped exercising this morning having woken up with aching joints. The doctor had warned him that he might be feeling this way soon and had told him to listen to his body and not push himself too far. His body was changing to accommodate the baby and the last thing he wanted was to injure himself. 

“Geno!” He looked up when he heard someone calling his name. “Geno, over here!” He finally located Hadas waving to him from a booth near the back of the restaurant and made his way over to her and sat down. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. Everyone was talking about you on the news like it was the end of the world and then you didn’t show up for class. I thought maybe you were hiding from us.”

“Not hiding, just sick, but feeling better now. So glad out of hospital.” Geno shivered. “Dima brought nesting blanket when went to hospital, helped but still felt wrong, wrong smells.”

Hadas shook her head. “I really hope I can give birth at home. My sister had to go to the hospital when she had her last kid because they were worried there was something wrong with the cord. She said that having to leave her nest like that made labor so much worse. I was there with her for both of her labors and the second time around, the time she was in the hospital, she smelled like she was in so much more distress.”

“She okay?”

“Yes, she and the baby were both fine, turned out there was nothing wrong with the cord after all, just looked like it on the scans.”

“Excuse me.” They both looked up to see a waitress standing by their table, smiling at them. “Hello, my name is Ammy, I’m going to be taking care of you today. Would you like to order something to drink?” 

Hadas got her footing first. “Milk, I’ll have milk please, a big glass, not one of the small ones.”

“Just water please.” While Geno was feeling much better he still didn’t feel the need to test his stomach and had been sticking to safe foods, like he had when he was having a lot of trouble with morning sickness. 

The waitress nodded and went to get their drinks. They took a moment to focus on their menus. When the waitress returned she took their orders

Hadas leaned over the table and spoke lowly to Geno. “Don’t look now, but there’s a kid over there who’s been watching you since you came in here. He looks like a hockey fan.” Geno turned around. There was a kid on the other side of the restaurant, maybe twelve years old, in a Penguins hoodie. When the kid caught him looking he quickly turned around, back to facing his family. Geno turned back to Hadas only to have here give him a playful shove. “I told you not to look!” The smile slowly left her face as she saw how nervous Geno was. “Hey, don’t worry about it. He looked really excited when he saw you walk in. Worst that happens he asks you for an autograph or a picture or something, right?”

“Guess so. You are right, shouldn’t worry.” He took a sip of water. He didn’t even know what he was really worried about. This wasn’t Russia, being outed to the media wasn’t going to land him or his family in prison. Now that people knew they weren’t going to treat him like dirt for being who he was. For trying to make a life for himself outside of the home and babies. Here, his career didn’t make him a disgrace, it made him someone a little kid might look up to. “Probably won't come over here anyway.” 

By the time their meals arrived the conversation had moved on to what their plans were once they were no longer pregnant. 

“I’m a kindergarten teacher, Monday’s are half days so that’s why today worked for me for lunch, technically Wednesdays are half days to, but that’s my day I do lesson planning for the week. After the baby is born I’m planning to take a year off, then go back. To be honest I’m starting to think that year might turn into two years. My sister keeps telling me the carriers in our family have a hard time letting go and I’ve been saying, ‘Nope, not gonna be me’, but the truth is I’m probably going to cave and take the second year.” She finally took a breath, smiled, and asked, “So, what are your plans?”

Geno fidgeted a little bit. He knew that what Hadas had planned was what most carriers did after the birth. They took at least a year at home to be with the baby and many omegas didn’t go back to work until all of their children were in school, if they went back at all. That wasn’t his plan. He planned to play hockey next season and that would only give him a couple of months home with the baby once the nesting period was over. “Hockey, I play hockey next season.”

“That’s great Geno” She gave him a soft smile. “Will Dima be home with the baby then?”

“Excuse me?” Geno was startled by the Russian. When he turned to look it was the young Penguins fan who had been watching him. He was standing by the table shifting with nerves or maybe excitement, his mother’s hand on his shoulder. “Are you Evgeni Malkin?”

“Yes, I am. What’s your name?”

“Ivyn, we moved so I could play hockey like you.”

Geno looked from Ivyn to his mother in confusion, then he caught a whiff. Ivyn was an omega, he was suppressed like most omega children in developed countries, but he was definitely an omega. Geno smiled. “You play hockey? That's great. What position do you play?”

“I’m a goalie!”

“You know, the Penguins goalie is an omega, like us. The goalie is very important. Do you enjoy it? Do well for your team?”

When Ivyn could only smile and nod, his mother squeezed his shoulder and spoke up. “He is very good, all of his coaches in Russia said he should go to one of the development schools. When he presented last year we decided that it would be best to leave Russia when I was offered a job here. Now he's back in hockey and doing well.” She smiled, looking over at Geno from her position in her wheelchair. “Ivyn, did you have something you wanted to ask Mr. Malkin?”

“Could you sign my hat? And could I get a picture with you?”

“Sure, I can do that.” Once both requests were taken care of, one with a sharpie produced by the excited boy and the other with the mother taking a photo of her son with Geno’s arm over his shoulder, Ivyn’s mother sent him back to the rest of the family who were waiting by the door to the restaurant.

Turning back to Gneo she became more serious. “I wanted to thank you for doing what you are doing. I know that you probably didn’t intend to leave the RSL the way that you did, I don’t know what happened but knowing you’re an omega I think I am right to assume it wasn’t just a contract dispute.” At Geno’s nod she continued. “But ever since it came out in the news Thursday before last you have been all Ivyn has been able to talk about. You’re a Russian hockey player who is an omega, like him. I don’t think he really understands how much you probably had to go through to get to this point, when he started presenting he was at hockey practice so hiding was never an option for him, we had to pull him out. Ever since we came here he’s been bothered by the other kids that there is no such thing as an omega Russian hockey player. Now he can point to you.”

Geno smoothed his hand over his bump and looked down at it. In this shirt, with how he was sitting, it was very visible, even though it wasn’t so large yet. “Well, I havn’t played an NHL game yet.”

“You’ll get there. I’ll let you get back to your lunch now. I just wanted to thank you and offer you my congratulation on your pregnancy and wish you the best.” She said turning to go. 

As she left Geno called after her. “Thank you.”

After Geno turned back to the table and Hadas to apologize for the interruption Hadas cut him off. “So, I have to admit, I understood some of that.”

“You speak Russian?!”

“Not really, but I do understand some, I have known Ariel and her family since I was eight. We were childhood sweethearts. I’ve pick some up over the years. Still don’t actually speak any though. But that’s not the point. I told you it wouldn’t be bad if they came over to say hi.” She was smiling at him softly. 

Geno smiled ruefully. “I know, you were right.”

“Now, since we have that interruption out of the way. Is Dima going to be a stay at home Dad? Because that would be adorable.”

Geno sighed. “No, home weekends and Thursday-Friday, but rest he will be in New York. We need to find someone can take care of baby while neither of us can be there, need to do soon. I want to get to know them. Don't’ want to hand my baby over to stranger.”

Hadas looked considering. “Geno, I know you don’t know me well yet, so my word won’t count for much, but I had a friend in college who works as a nanny, we were roommates and she is really great, before she got her last full time job she would watch my sister’s kids. She comes with great references and is certified in first aid and everything. I would be happy to get you in touch with her.”

“Not have job now?” If this woman was so great Geno couldn’t help but wonder why she was available. This was his baby he was talking about, he was going to worry no matter how ridiculous he was being.

“Oh she has a job right now, but the family is moving at the end of the school year and she wants to stay in the area, so she is looking for a next job. Look, I’m not going to be insulted if you say no, but why don’t you think about it.”

Geno figured, why not, they had to start somewhere. “Sure. Give me contact information. We at least meet.” Hadas smiled at him and reached for her phone. 

“I’ll let her know to expect your call. Her days off are Saturdays all day and Friday afternoon. It keeps her family happy that she isn’t technically working, but she isn’t observant so feel free to call then.”

They didn’t talk about Geno’s upcoming interview directly, but he still came away from lunch feeling better about it for some reason.

\---------------------------------------------

This interview was not like any Geno had done before. For one thing there was a lot more prep. For another it was probably going to be a lot longer than the short pieces he had done previously in locker rooms. There was also the fact that this time he wouldn’t be lying. When he arrived at the studio the interview was being filmed at Mrs. Martin was already there with the interpreter. The interpreter was the same one who had been brought in to sit in the box the day Geno got sick. When Geno had had a chance to sit down and talk to him it turned out that his name was Jim and he volunteered for an international omega rights group part time. Mrs. Martin and the interviewer, a beta woman named Samantha Gordon, sat down with him and the interpreter and went over what would be going on that day. First they would get some footage of Geno to splice in with the other footage they had, mostly of him skating and playing back when he was with Metallurg, then they would do the interview. Geno wasn’t sure what they would do with the footage but was sure he would find out when he saw the final product. They had asked him to wear clothes that made it clear that he was pregnant, showed off the bump, it felt weird to be flaunting his pregnancy like this, but everyone seemed to think it was best. 

“So, Mr. Malkin, is there something you would like me to call you, or is Evgeni or Mr. Malkin fine?”

“Geno, you can call me Geno.”

“Alright Geno, I don’t know how much you have done this before, but first you will be going through makeup then we’ll get any stills and extra footage we need, then you and I will sit down, with Jim of course, and we’ll talk. Does that sound good to you?”

“Yes, that sounds good.” Geno’s English was getting a lot better, especially his comprehension, but this, having an interpreter, it took so much of the stress out of it to have a way to really make sure he understood and was understood correctly.

“Great. We should get started. Max will set you up with make up.

Once Geno looked satisfactory to the makeup artist and the producer and Mrs. Martin he was herded into a studio where he was posed and moved and told to do things like when he had to do promotional material. This was different from the previous shoots because there were fewer dramatic intimidation shots with hockey equipment and more of him with his hands cradling his stomach. They even had him cradle his stomach while trying to look intimidating, it wasn't as difficult as it sounded, all he had to do was think about someone threatening them. It still made him feel ridiculous though.

When they were finished with him in the empty studio he was led to one with a set complete with a couch and a couple of chairs. 

Samantha Gordon hurried over from where she had been talking to the producer. “Geno, I take it they're finished with you and we’re ready to start the interview? It’s just going to be a moment, they were having some problems with the sound system and are fixing it now. How are you feeling? A little nervous?”

Geno shrugged. “A little. I think I just want it to be done.”

Someone shouted from the other side of the studio. “Okay, we’re good to go. Everyone get set. We need to get this rolling.”

“Well, that’s our cue. Come on, let's get started.”

Once they had Geno, Jim, and the interviewer arranged the way they wanted them Geno found himself seated next to Jim on the couch, looking across at Samantha Gordon. 

She turned to look directly into the camera and began.

SG: I am very happy to introduce a young man that many of our viewers may have heard about in the past few days, especially if they follow Penguins hockey. Evgeni Malkin is breaking his silence here with us more than three months after he was first recognized here in Pittsburgh and almost two weeks after it came out in the pres that, not only is he an omega, but that he is several months pregnant.

She turned to him and began again.

SG: So Geno, is it still okay if I call you Geno?

EM: Yes, Geno is fine.

SG: First thing, congratulations on your pregnancy, you’re glowing.

Her smile was soft as she said it and the words made Geno beam. 

EM: Thank you.

SG: I think what everyone wants to know most is, why hide that you’re an omega and how did you do it?

EM: I hid that I was an omega because in Russia there are a lot of rules for omegas that you don’t have here. Omegas can’t play hockey or do a lot of other things. There are travel restrictions and you can’t get a passport. I wanted to play hockey more than anything, so I hid it. I went to a different doctor every year and gave false names, I lied on paper work, I carefully timed my heats so they fell over holidays. 

SG: And you were able to keep it hidden?

EM: For years, yes. 

SG: Then what happened?

EM: I missed a few days of suppressants. Everything I read said It would probably be fine, but I wasn’t that lucky. I went into heat in a hotel bar. 

SG: What happened?

She looked concerned.

EM: I met Dima. He offered to call someone for me, my parents, or get me somewhere safe. I asked him to spend the heat with me and he agreed. On the way up to his room we ran into my coaches. It was everything I had feared, but I had known it was coming since I felt the heat start. The hotel was not that big. People were going to figure it out. 

The interviewer looked concerned.

SG: Did you get in trouble?

Geno sat for a moment thinking, deciding how much he wanted to talk about everything that was done to him right now. Not much he decided, just the basics, an outline. 

EM: Yes, I got in trouble, a lot of trouble. The team had all the cards and they knew it. They made both Dima and I sign NDAs and they made me sign a lot more. If I didn’t do what they wanted I would be exposed and would probably end up in prison for hiding and lying to the government. They took my passport so I couldn’t run and reorganized my suppressants and heat schedule. I had to have all of my heats in the offseason. They made sure of it.

SG: I’m not a doctor, but I know that heats aren’t regular like that coming off of suppressants. That’s one a month like clockwork. 

She was visibly unsettled. 

EM: They made it happen and Dima made sure I survived it. I would rather not talk about this any more. 

He lowered his eyes and took a moment to focus on the movement of his child inside him, there was something grounding about it, he held his bump and just breathed for a moment. Samantha observed him before taking a deep breath and moving on. 

SG: Okay. So, tell me about Dima. Am I correct in saying he’s your alpha?

Geno relaxed.

EM: Yes. He is my alpha. He was always there for me while I was dealing with everything the team was putting me through. It was difficult, especially after the rest of the team found out, and that didn't take long. We talked all the time and he was there for me during the summer and not just for my heats. He helped me to get out, get to America, when the team went abroad to train.

SG: Tell me more about that, the escape. You caused a bit of buzz in the hockey world at the time, didn't you?

EM: It was always my plan to come to America and play in the NHL. Metalurg had forced me to sign a much longer contract and taken my passport so I couldn't leave the country. After last season and the off seasons I knew that I had to leave. They were going to kill me eventually. When I heard that training was in Finland I knew they would have to give me my passport. Dima helped me get in touch with the U.S. embassy there and plan my escape.

SG: When did you find out you were pregnant? Were you surprised?

EM: It was a surprise. When I first got here Mr. Lemieux set up an appointment for me to get checked out by one of the team doctors. They did a lot of blood work because of all the suppressants I was on. That's when they found out and told me. 

SG: Something a lot of people are wondering. Why keep hiding? You are safe here, so why hide?

EM: There were a couple of reasons, but mostly it was because I have been hiding for what feels like most of my life. Hiding and being afraid are hard habits to break. That and I didn't want to make some sort of announcement I was pregnant early on, it's bad luck.

SG: Is that why you hid after the press found out about your pregnancy by accident at the game?

EM: That wasn’t actually an accident. I was in the press box because we wanted to let it come out naturally. I had to leave suddenly because I got sick.

SG: Well I certainly hope you are doing better now.

EM: I was in the hospital for a little while but I’m fine now.

SG: I’m glad to hear you are okay. I think we have time for one last question. When do you plan to return to the ice? Do you plan to return to hockey at all? A lot of omegas wouldn't.

EM: I plan to play next season. 

She turned to face a camera directly.

SG: Well that's all we have time for.

Turning back to face Geno, “Thank you for talking with me today.”

“Thank you for inviting me.”

Then people were yelling cut and moving in to take the mics off of them. It was done. Geno just hoped he had done okay.

\------------------------------------

Geno got up and looked around, seeing Mrs. Martin walking towards him he moved to meet her halfway. 

“You did well Geno. I think this will take care of a lot of the wilder speculation.”

“Good. Don’t want trouble.”

“I don’t think you are going to have to worry about that. The only people likely to try are from the RSL and we are already dealing with them in court.”

“I can go home now?”

“Not just yet, I was hoping to have lunch with you if that’s okay.”

“Is okay. Where?”

Once she had given him the address of a restaurant they parted ways. It wasn’t far from the studio and was quiet and brightly lit. 

“Smells good.” Geno offered across the table.

“I know, I’ve always liked this place.” There was an awkward silence. “Geno, do you know why I work for the Penguins?”

Geno shrugged and shook his head. “Good at job?” He offered.

She smiled. “Thank you for that, but I meant more specifically, why me. I was hired because Mr. Lemieux wanted to have someone on the media relations staff who understood what it was like to be an omega in society, the expectations placed on us. Someone who could begin to understand the pressures faced by an omega hockey player. Back when Mr. Lemieux started playing, before he purchased the team, there was no one on staff but alphas and betas.” 

Geno remembered how her bos, the alpha, had reacted to him and his situation, his problems, each time they had met. He wasn’t disrespectful, though now that he thought about it that might have had something to do with Mario being there, he was just clueless. “Glad you are here. Your boss, alpha, not seem to understand. Not know why I hide, not think, ‘might be pregnant.’”

She looked a little rueful, “He’s not so bad, I think you mostly just caught him off guard. The reason I’m telling you about this is, I have never been to Russia Geno, I don’t know what it was like to live there, under those laws. I have some idea because I’ve studied how omegas are treated around the world because sometimes the team travels and we get players from all over, like you and Gonchar are from Russia. I need to be ready to deal with different attitudes starting out, for people to say things to the media they don’t really mean because they think it’s what’s expected. Sometimes I need to educate about what isn’t okay here. But I haven't lived your life, if there is something I am getting wrong you need to tell me. Okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.” 

“Now that we have that out of the way, let’s enjoy our lunch, alright?”

“Sound good. So hungry.”

“I remember what that was like. My husband says that there was a point where I was eating anything that didn’t run away fast enough. I maintain that he is making that up.” She smiled at him and they dug into their pasta.

\-----------------------------------------------

That evening Geno settled down with Sid, who was home for the next week almost, in the living room of the guest house to watch the interview. It started off with a short introduction, a montage of footage of him playing in Russia and skating in practices in Pittsburgh. There was a photo of him cradling his stomach right before they transitioned to the interview footage. For the most part he thought he looked and sounded good. Jim certainly was clearer with his words than Geno would have been in English. 

When it was over Geno turned to Sid. “So, what did you think of interview?”

Sid had a thoughtful look. “Well, I learned some stuff about you and about Dima that I didn't know. You really met him in for the first time when you were in heat? In a bar when you were 17?”

“Legal there.” Geno pointed out. “You think people make trouble about that? Ask questions?” 

“I mean, they might ask questions, people are nosey, but I don’t think you will have any more problems than you would have, no.” 

Geno relaxed. “Good. Want people calm down. Just want baby and hockey and Dima.”

Sid smiled. “In that order?”

Geno grinned back. “Sometimes Dima and hockey switch, like when he’s--”

“--Okay Geno, I still don’t need to hear about that!” Sid was red again.

“Was going to say learning to cook for baby and me!” Geno exclaimed, laughing. “But that to!” 

Sid rubbed his face with his hand and sighed. 

Geno couldn’t stop smiling.

**Author's Note:**

> I LOVE Comments and Kudos! 
> 
> A couple of quotes from dancinbutterfly's work at the very beginning (because I suck at adapting dialogue and making it my own)  
> I am not a hockey historian. Events may (*cough* will) differ from how they happened in real life.  
> Brief mention for genetic medical concerns and testing (see end-endnotes for specifics, not really spoilery)*  
> Also I suck at speech patterns, I have no idea what I am doing but I mean no offense to anyone.**  
> If Russian speakers are talking to each other they are probably speaking Russian. If Geno’s speech patterns suddenly smooth out the odds are good that he is speaking Russian.  
> Also note, I know Nothing about US immigration law or lawyers or the procedure. I am making it all up. The closest I have ever gotten to a courtroom is a canceled jury summons.  
> I also know nothing about medicine. I am neither a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. ***  
> RSL (Russian Superleague) = predecessor to KHL which began in 2008
> 
> *A brief discussion of tay sachs occurs. However the fic does not directly address the particulars.  
> Yes, I know that that is mostly something that Jewish people have to worry about. But honestly, this is an AU of an AU, who knows, if this was how the world works maybe it would have turned out like this. Point is. This is a Fictional Universe in which there are at least 6 sexes and even more genders (because trans people still exist). If I want to insert an issue that my family has to worry about I am going to do it. (And no. I have never witnessed this happen directly, just watched people worry about it). 
> 
> ** That said, English is fucking hard and there is no shame in that, not even us native speakers get everything right and what is right even changes depending on where you are and the dialect that is in use. Not just the words either, the freaking grammatical structures change to. 
> 
> *** I am not an advocate one way or another on home birth in real life. This is an AU.


End file.
